Appeal of FairPoint Logistics, Inc.

Petitioners Northern New England Telephone Operations, LLC and FairPoint Logistics, Inc. (collectively, “FairPoint”), appealed the final decision of the New Hampshire Department of Employment Security (NHES), claiming that it erred in rulings that: (1) upheld the decision of the commissioner of NHES to reopen the ruling of the appeal tribunal which found (a) certain unionized employees of FairPoint (claimants) were not entitled to collect unemployment benefits during the period they were on strike against the company because the strike resulted in a “stoppage of work” and (b) strike pay received by some of the workers constituted income deductible from their benefits; (2) affirmed a subsequent order of a second appeal tribunal which found that benefits were payable because the strike did not result in a stoppage of work; and (3) reversed the second tribunal’s determination that strike pay was deductible from benefits. After review, the New Hampshire Supreme Court reversed the appellate board’s decision, reinstated in part the order of the first appeal tribunal, and found it unnecessary to address the issue of strike pay. The Court found the commissioner erred in his determination that the first tribunal’s decision resulted from a mistake of law. Contrary to the commissioner’s view that the tribunal based its decision merely on what he described (but did not define) as a “negative impact” analysis, the Court concluded the tribunal had sufficient evidence before it from which it could find that the strike resulted in a substantial curtailment of FairPoint’s operations and thus constituted a stoppage of work under RSA 282-A:36. For the same reason, the Court also concluded the appellate board erred as a matter of law insofar as it ultimately upheld the commissioner’s decision to reopen and did not affirm the decision of the first tribunal with respect to the stoppage of work issue. Because the stoppage of work disqualified claimants from receiving unemployment benefits during the period when they were on strike, it was unnecessary to address the issue of whether the strike pay received by some of the claimants constituted deductible wages. View "Appeal of FairPoint Logistics, Inc." on Justia Law