Legal Question in Disability Law in Oregon

Re: Unemplyment benefits

She is very likely to be eligible for unemployment benefits.

First, if she is represented by a union, she should contact her union agent on this subject.

Second, she should apply for unemployment benefits immediately.

She is eligible for benefits, as long as her termination was not caused by her own "willful or wantonly negligent violation of the standards of behavior." Merely not following proper procedures once does not disqualify her.

An employee who "[h]as been discharged for misconduct connected with work" is disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits. ORS 657.176(2)(a). The Employment Department has defined "misconduct" as a "willful or wantonly negligent violation of the standards of behavior which an employer has the right to expect of an employee * * *." "Wantonly negligent" conduct is "indifference to the consequences of an act * * * where the individual acting * * * is conscious of his or her conduct and knew or should have known that his or her conduct would probably result in a violation of the standards of behavior which an employer has the right to expect of an employee." . The Department has also provided that "[i]solated instances of poor judgment, good faith errors, unavoidable accidents, absences due to illness or other physical or mental disabilities, or mere inefficiency resulting from lack of job skills or experience are not misconduct."