NEW YORK UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE - FALSE JOB APPLICATION

Recently, the Appeal Board held in (Mailed and Filed: DECEMBER 28, 2011) IN THE MATTER OF: Appeal Board No. 554634:

"OPINION: The credible evidence establishes that the claimant was discharged because she failed to disclose her criminal conviction from 2001, on the employer's job application in 2010. We are mindful of the Court's decision in Matter of Ghorab, 219 A.D.2d 793 (3d Dept 1995), holding that the claimant's failure to disclose her criminal conviction on the employer's job application was not protected by law solely because she had received a certificate of disabilities. However, we note that the claimant in the instant matter was mistakenly advised by her attorney in 2004, that she was no longer required to disclose her conviction on employment applications and she had followed his advice for six years without adverse consequences from the employers even after her conviction became known to them. Additionally, the claimant in the instant matter pled guilty to welfare fraud in the fifth degree, a misdemeanor, as opposed to the felony conviction of the claimant in Matter of Ghorab. Under the extenuating circumstances of the instant matter, we conclude that the claimant's actions do not rise to the level of misconduct. Accordingly,the initial determination is overruled."