2006 Ct. Sup. 23618
No. CV 06-401 41 99 SConnecticut Superior Court Judicial District of Fairfield at Bridgeport
December 29, 2006
MEMORANDUM OF DECISION
MYRON R. BALLEN, JUDGE TRIAL REFEREE.
The Court has carefully read and reviewed this 82-page file both before and after holding two hearings on the same. The second hearing was at the request of the plaintiff, Mr. Zulfi, through his attorney, who requested the opportunity to present additional argument and evidence, albeit the late date of same.
Pages 1 through 5 of this file are entitled Notice To Employer of Hearing and Unemployment Compensation Claim. Page 3 indicates that the claimant was hired on September 27, 1999 and his last day worked was February 9, 2005. The reason for separation was listed as Voluntarily Quit and the specific reason the individual gave for leaving “was leaving New Morning for better days coming.” Question 2 was, Did the individual pursue any alternatives to leaving and the box marked no is checked. Page 5 is a copy of a document on New Morning stationery entitled VOLUNTARY RESIGNATION and contains the following information: Employee Name: Dzevat (J.) Zulfi; Position held: Produce; Date of Resignation, 01/30/05; Last Day of Work: 02/09/05; “I hereby resign from New Morning Country Store Inc. for the following reasons: LEAVE NEW MORNING TO BETTER COMING DAYS in large print with what appears to be plaintiff’s signature. Below this is the following printed line: “My signature below indicates that this is a voluntary resignation from my position at New Morning Country Store, Inc. and I have no claims against the Company.” The page concludes with the plaintiff’s signature and is dated 02/09/05. There can be no doubt as to the authenticity of the Voluntary Resignation form which the plaintiff signed and the plaintiff offered no dispute concerning same.
On April 11, 2005, the Administrator ruled the claimant, Dzevat Zulfi, disqualified from receiving unemployment compensation benefits effective February 6, 2005. The administrator found that the claimant voluntarily left suitable work without good cause attributable to the employer.
The claimant filed a timely appeal from the Administrator’s CT Page 23619 determination of April 19, 2005. The Referee heard the claimant’s appeal on May 12, 2005. The claimant represented himself and the employer did not attend. By a decision issued on May 17, 2005 Associate Appeals Referee, Karen Schumaker, heard the appeal, affirmed the Administrator’s determination and dismissed the claimant’s appeal.
Claimant thereupon on June 6, 2005 filed a Motion to Reopen the Referee’s decision which was granted by Referee Schumaker on July 11, 2005. The appeals division then scheduled a new hearing which was set down for August 30, 2005. At that time Referee Schumaker issued a decision denying the Motion to reopen on September 12, 2005.
The claimant then filed a timely appeal to the Board of Review on October 3, 2005. After review, the Board of Review Lynne M. Knox, Chair, issued a decision affirming the referee’s decision and dismissing the appeal on November 16, 2005. In a footnote to her decision of November 16, 2005, Chairman Knox states, “The claimant also maintains that he was subjected to harassment because of his ethnicity as a Macadamian. Both federal and state law prohibit an employer from discriminatory practice against any individual on the basis of race, national origin, ethnicity or gender.” The claimant cited only one incident, the reference to the product maca, which he found offensive. The claimant has not established that either the store manager or the accountant were involved in the incident. The claimant has not established that there was a hostile work environment or that he left because of a hostile work environment.
The decision of the Board of Review follows reasonably from the facts found and correctly applies the law to those facts. The decision is not arbitrary, capricious or contrary to law. The decision is affirmed and the appeal is dismissed. Defendant’s Motion for Judgment is granted. CT Page 23620