Unemployment Benefits for School Bus Driver During COVID-19 Divides Commonwealth Court
"The fact that Claimant chose to voluntarily sign up for summer work does not make her a year-round employee," the court's majority wrote. "Accordingly, Claimant is disqualified from receiving UC benefits under Section 402.1(2) of the Law."
August 10, 2022 at 12:16 PM
5 minute read
A divided opinion issued by the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania found that a full-time school bus driver did not qualify for unemployment benefits under the reasonable assurance doctrine.
Catherine C. Hall worked full time as a school bus driver for the Rose Tree Media School District since December 2021, according to the court's Aug. 8 majority opinion. For the last five years, at least, Hall has volunteered to work summers in addition to the regular school year. In the summer of 2020, the school district informed Hall that there would be no bus driver work available due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but confirmed that Hall would have a position as a bus driver for the 2020-21 school year.
Hall applied for unemployment benefits on June 21, 2020, and received $3,472 for a period covering July 4, 2020, through Aug. 15, 2020. On Aug. 21, the Unemployment Compensation Service Center issued to Hall a notice of determination which stated that she was ineligible for benefits under Section 402.1 of Unemployment Compensation Law and assessed a fault overpayment under Section 804(a).
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