IN THE MATTER of the EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE ACT
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IN THE MATTER of a claim by
X
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IN THE MATTER of an appeal to an Umpire by the claimant from a decision by the Board of Referees given on October 8, 2009, at Barrie, Ontario
LOUIS S. TANNENBAUM, Umpire
The issue in the present appeal is whether or not the claimant had just cause for voluntarily leaving his employment pursuant to sections 29 and 30 of the Employment Insurance Act (the Act).
A hearing has not been requested therefore a decision will be rendered based upon the information contained in the file.
On his application for benefits (exhibit 2) the claimant indicated he had quit his job because he was dealing with personal issues at home. His Record of Employment (R.O.E.) indicated that the reasons for leaving was "E", namely quit, but also had the code "M" (dismissed) which was crossed out (exhibit 3). The employer stated that the claimant was to be dismissed but chose to resign, therefore the code was changed.
The claimant who was described as "computer design" in his R.O.E. had downloaded some child pornography on his computer and was eventually charged under the Criminal Code. He claimed he was innocent and that he had downloaded the material by accident. His employer was going to dismiss him but he chose to resign.
Benefits were refused by the Commission which was of the view that the claimant had left without just cause (exhibit 7).
An appeal to the Board of Referees was unanimously dismissed and the claimant now appeals before an Umpire (exhibit 13) alleging an erroneous finding of fact by the Board.
The Board of Referees, in dismissing the appeal, held in its Findings of Fact:
"The Board finds as fact that the claimant as he stated in Exhibit 5 had been charged with child pornography possession.
The Board finds as fact that he should have been proactive when he downloaded the "limewire" in error and immediately reported the questionable site to the police or deleted it rather than retain it on his computer especially with his knowledge of computers from his work experience and common sense predicates that all of us are aware of society's attitude towards child pornography.
The Board finds as fact that the claimant stated in Exhibit 5 that he chose to quit rather than be fired, as he understood the employer's reasons and did not was [sic] a dismissal on his record.
...
In this case, the Board finds as fact that a reasonable alternative would have been to request a leave of absence until he sorted out his legal problems.
Therefore, the Board is satisfied that the claimant did not show just cause for voluntarily leaving his employment within the meaning of the Employment Insurance Act because leaving when he did was not his only reasonable alternative."
The evidence does not support the ground of appeal invoked, nor does it support any other ground of appeal. The decision of the Board is a reasonable one on the evidence submitted and follows the law and the jurisprudence. There is no reason for the Umpire to intervene.
For the above reasons, the appeal is dismissed.
Louis S. Tannenbaum
UMPIRE
OTTAWA, Ontario
February 26, 2010