Case Name: TOTAL AUDIO-VISUAL SYSTEMS, INC. v. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, LICENSING AND REGULATION, et al.
Court: Court of Appeals of Maryland
Jurisdiction: Maryland
Decision Date: 2000-08-25
Citations: 360 Md. 387
Docket Number: No. 145
Parties: TOTAL AUDIO-VISUAL SYSTEMS, INC. v. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, LICENSING AND REGULATION, et al.
Judges: 
Reporter: Maryland Reports
Volume: 360
Pages: 387–433

Head Matter:
758 A.2d 124
TOTAL AUDIO-VISUAL SYSTEMS, INC. v. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, LICENSING AND REGULATION, et al.
No. 145,
Sept. Term, 1999.
Court of Appeals of Maryland.
Aug. 25, 2000.
Claire O. Ducker, Sr., Locust Grove, YA (S. Curt Hansen, Washington, DC), all on brief, for Appellant.
Matthew W. Boyle, Asst. Atty. Gen. (J. Joseph Curran, Jr., Atty. Gen. of Md., on brief), Baltimore, for Appellees.
Argued before BELL, C.J., and ELDRIDGE, RÓDOWSKY, RAKER, WILNER, CATHELL and HARRELL, JJ.

Opinion:
BELL, Chief Judge.
This case is an appeal from a grant of unemployment benefits awarded to the claimant, Gary C. Miller ("Miller"), based upon his employment with the petitioner, Total AudioVisual System. Despite opposition from the petitioner, the Board of Appeals for the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation ("DLLR") determined that there was "good cause" for the claimant's voluntary resignation of his job with the petitioner, construing that phrase, as used in Md. Code Ann., Labor and Employment § 8-1001 (1991, 1999 Repl.Vol.), to include those situations in which an employee voluntarily leaves one job for a better one, and affirmed the award of benefits. The Circuit Court for Montgomery County agreed. We issued the writ of certiorari on our own motion to consider whether, under the Labor and Employment Article, an employee is entitled to unemployment benefits on the basis of his or her employment with a previous employer where that employee voluntarily resigned a permanent and satisfactory job with that previous employer in order to take a job with another employer. Because we conclude that, under the circumstances of this case, the claimant was not entitled to unemployment compensation on the basis of his employment with the petitioner, we shall reverse the judgment of the Circuit Court.
I.
For approximately one year, the claimant was employed by the petitioner in a managerial position. His salary was $82,000.00 per year plus one percent of the petitioner's net profits. During the latter part of that year, the claimant received an offer of employment from Projection Incorporated ("Projection"), a company engaged in business similar to that of the petitioner. The offer included an $8,000.00 increase in pay, plus one percent of that company's gross profits. When the petitioner declined to match the offer, the claimant voluntarily resigned from his position with the petitioner and began working for Projection. Shortly after commencing work at Projection, however, the claimant was laid off through no fault of his own.
The claimant applied for unemployment benefits with DLLR based, however, on his work history with the petitioner. The initial claims specialist denied the benefits, finding both that the claimant was not eligible for benefits based upon his short work history with Projection and that he had left his employment with the petitioner voluntarily and without good cause -within the meaning of § 8-1001 of the Labor and Employment Article. The claimant appealed and, after a de novo hearing, the Hearing Examiner found that because the claimant left his employment with the petitioner for what he considered better employment, including an $8,000.00 pay raise, there was good cause and, thus, the claimant was entitled to receive unemployment compensation under § 8-1001. The petitioner appealed the Hearing Examiner's decision to the Board of Appeals of the DLLR, which affirmed the decision of the Hearing Examiner. He then sought judicial review in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, which also affirmed the award of benefits. Next, the petitioner appealed to the Court of Special Appeals, but before that court considered the matter, we granted certiorari to address the important issue of first impression that this case presents.
II.
In this Court, the petitioner argues that unemployment benefits should not have been granted to the claimant. It argues that the governing statutes, § 8-1001 and § 8-611 of the Labor & Employment Article, clearly disqualify the claimant from receiving benefits. Specifically, it contends that there was nothing in, or about, the claimant's job with the petitioner that precipitated his leaving and that it would be argumentum ad absurdum to contend that voluntarily leaving a permanent and satisfactory job for what the claimant believes to be a better job can be considered a "valid circumstance," defined in § 8 — 1001(c)(l)(ii) as "of such necessitous or compelling nature that the individual has no reasonable alternative other than leaving the employment," for awarding benefits. Accordingly, it urges this Court to reverse the judgment of the Circuit Court.
DLLR conversely argues that unemployment benefits were properly awarded in this case precisely because a claimant who leaves a position for other employment with similar responsibilities and substantially better pay has left with good cause under § 8-1001. Further, DLLR contends that the Board's interpretation of § 8-1001 is consistent with the plain language of the statute, its legislative history, and the remedial nature of the Unemployment Insurance Law. Moreover, citing Board of Educ. of Montgomery County v. Paynter, 303 Md. 22, 491 A.2d 1186 (1985) and cases from other jurisdictions, it argues that the Board's decision is consistent with the standard set by this Court, as well as the decisions of other state courts addressing the issue, that leaving one's job to accept better employment is a cause which would impel the average, reasonable worker to leave his or her job. Accordingly, it urges this Court to affirm the judgment of the Circuit Court.
We agree with the petitioner. Because § 8-1001 and 8-611 are clear and unambiguous, and the meaning derived from the words the Legislature chose to use to express its intent is both reasonable and logical, we hold that the claimant in this case is not eligible for unemployment benefits based upon his employment with the petitioner. Therefore, we shall reverse the judgment of the Circuit Court.
III.
At the outset, we review the process of awarding unemployment benefits in Maryland. Title 8 of the Labor and Employment Article is the codification of unemployment law under Maryland's statutory scheme. Pursuant to § 8-806, when an individual applies for unemployment insurance benefits under § 8-805, a DLLR claims specialist and then a Hearing Examiner reviews the reasons for that individual's separation from any employer during that individual's "base period." The Legislature defines "base period" as "the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters immediately preceding the start of the benefit year," see § 8-101(b), and classifies each employer during the base period as a "base period employer." See § 8 — 101(c). Pursuant to § 8 — 611(b), when a former employee applies for unemployment benefits, every former employer within the State in that base period can be charged for benefits paid to that former employee. If, however, the claimant has separated from any of his or her base period employers for a disqualifying reason, see § 8-1001, 8-1002, 8-1002.1, 8-1008, he or she is disqualified from receiving unemployment insurance benefits. Section 8-806 also allows for such a determination to be referred first to a hearing examiner and ultimately to be decided by the DLLR Board of Appeals.
This Court's review of the DLLR Board of Appeals decision is limited. As we have said, in reviewing the decision of an administrative agency:
[A] reviewing court, be it a circuit court or an appellate court, shall apply the substantial evidence test to the final decisions of an administrative agency, but it must not itself make independent findings of fact or substitute its judgment for that of the agency. Of course, a reviewing court may always determine whether the administrative agency made an error of law. Therefore, ordinarily, the court reviewing a final decision of an administrative agency shall determine the legality of the decision and whether there was substantial evidence from the record as a whole to support the decision.
Board of Educ. of Montgomery County v. Paynter, 303 Md. 22, 35, 491 A.2d 1186, 1192-93 (1985). But we also pointed out in Office of People's Counsel v. Maryland Public Service Com'n, 355 Md. 1, 14, 733 A.2d 996, 1003 (1999)(quoting Commissioners of Cambridge v. Eastern Shore Public Serv. Co., 192 Md. 333, 339, 64 A.2d 151, 154 (1949) and citing Mayor & Council of Crisfield v. Public Serv. Comm'n, 183 Md. 179, 189, 36 A.2d 705, 710 (1944) and Baltimore Gas and Elec. Co. v. Dep't of Health and Mental Hygiene, 284 Md. 216, 395 A.2d 1174 (1979)), that "[questions of law, however, are 'completely subject to review by the courts,' . although the agency's interpretation of a statute may be entitled to some deference." See also, Board of Physician Quality Assurance v. Banks, 354 Md. 59, 69, 729 A.2d 376, 381 (1999); Liberty Nursing Center, Inc. v. Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, 330 Md. 433, 443, 624 A.2d 941, 946 (1993). That deference, however, is by no means dispositive, nor otherwise as great as that applicable to factual findings or mixed questions of law and fact. Baltimore Bldg, and Constr. Trades Council v. Barnes, 290 Md. 9, 14, 427 A.2d 979, 982 (1981). As the issue in the case sub judice is solely a question of statutory interpretation, we review the agency's determination de novo.
It is well-settled that a statute is itself the best evidence of its own meaning. Board of License Comm'rs for Charles County v. Toye, 354 Md. 116, 122, 729 A.2d 407, 410 (1999); Read v. Supervisor of Assessments of Anne Arundel County, 354 Md. 383, 392-93, 731 A.2d 868, 873 (1999); Resper v. State, 354 Md. 611, 618-19, 732 A.2d 863, 867 (1999). Indeed, we have said many times that the process of statutory interpretation begins with, and frequently ends with, the words of the statute. See, McNeil v. State, 356 Md. 396, 404, 739 A.2d 80, 85 (1999); Schuman, Kane, Chartered v. Aluisi, 341 Md. 115, 119, 668 A.2d 929, 931 (1995); Baltimore v. Cassidy, 338 Md. 88, 93, 656 A.2d 757, 760 (1995) (citing Harris v. State, 331 Md. 137, 145, 626 A.2d 946, 950 (1993)). Therefore, where statutory language is clear and unambiguous, according to its ordinary and commonly understood meaning, see Chesapeake and Potomac Tel. Co. of Maryland v. Director of Finance for Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, 343 Md. 567, 578, 683 A.2d 512, 517 (1996), a court must so construe the statute, rather than resort to legislative history or other extraneous considerations to arrive at a contrary construction. Toye, 354 Md. at 122, 729 A.2d at 410; Giant Food, Inc. v. Department of Labor Licensing and Regulation, 356 Md. 180, 188-189, 738 A.2d 856, 860 (1999); Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. Gussin, 350 Md. 552, 564, 714 A.2d 188, 193 (1998); Coleman v. State, 281 Md. 538, 546, 380 A.2d 49, 54 (1977); Kaczorowski v. Mayor of Baltimore, 309 Md. 505, 515, 525 A.2d 628, 633 (1987); Compare, Taylor v. Friedman, 344 Md. 572, 582, 689 A.2d 59, 63 (1997) (even when language of a statute is plain and unambiguous, court may look to a legislative purpose to support or confirm plain meaning).
Section § 8-1001 expressly provides:
(a) Grounds for disqualification. — (1) An individual who otherwise is eligible to receive benefits is disqualified from receiving benefits if the Secretary finds that unemployment results from voluntarily leaving work without good cause.
(2) A claimant who is otherwise eligible for benefits from the loss of full-time employment may not be disqualified from the benefits attributable to the full-time employment because the claimant voluntarily quit a part-time employment, if the claimant quit the part-time employment before the loss of the full-time employment.
(b) Finding of good cause. The Secretary may find that a cause for voluntarily leaving is good cause only if:
(1) the cause is directly attributable to, arising from, or connected with:
(i) the conditions of employment; or
(ii) the actions of the employing unit; or
(2) an individual:
(i) is laid off from employment through no fault of the individual;
(ii) obtains subsequent employment that pays weekly wages that total less than 50% of the weekly wage earned in the employment from which the individual was laid off; and
(iii) leaves the subsequent employment to attend a training program for which the individual has been chosen that:
1. is offered under the Maryland Job Training Partnership Act; or
2. otherwise is approved by the Secretary.
(c) Valid circumstances. — (1) A circumstance for voluntarily leaving work is valid only if it is:
(i) a substantial cause that is directly attributable to, arising from, or connected with conditions of employment or actions of the employing unit; or
(ii) of such necessitous or compelling nature that the individual has no reasonable alternative other than leaving the employment.
(2) For determination of the application of paragraph (l)(ii) of this subsection to an individual who leaves employment because of the health of the individual or another for whom the individual must care, the individual shall submit a written statement or other documentary evidence of the health problem from a hospital or physician.
(d) Required disqualification. — in addition to other circumstances for which a disqualification may be imposed, neither good cause nor a valid circumstance exist and a disqualification shall be imposed if an individual leaves employment:
(1) to become self-employed;
(2) to.accompany a spouse to a new location or to join a spouse in a new location; or
(3) to attend an educational institution.
(Emphasis added).
A plain reading of § 8-1001 makes clear that leaving employment for a better paying job does not constitute "good cause." Subsection (a) makes it indisputably clear that an individual, whom the Secretary finds has voluntarily left employment without good cause is disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits. Conversely, also inferred from subsection (a)(1) is that unemployment benefits are payable to an employee who leaves employment voluntarily, but for good cause. In subsection (b), the Legislature defined "good cause" in terms of two permitted and definitive findings. Subsection (b)(1) permits the Secretary to find good cause only if the reason the employee voluntarily left employment "is directly attributable to, arising from, or connected with" either a condition of employment or an action of the employment unit. Under subsection (b)(2), the Secretary may make a good cause finding only if an employee, laid off without fault, voluntarily left subsequent employment paying less than half what the position from which he or she was laid off paid, to attend a training program for which he or she has been selected, offered by the Maryland Job Training Partnership Act or approved by the Secretary. Because the claimant was not laid off by the petitioner and, indeed, admits leaving his employment with the petitioner for a job paying a better wage, it is clear and the parties agree, that the claimant was not, and cannot be, eligible for benefits under subsection (b)(2). There fore, good cause must be found, if at all, under subsection (b)(1).
Under subsection (b)(1), to be good cause, the reason for voluntarily leaving employment must be job related, see Paynter, supra, 303 Md. at 29, 491 A.2d at 1189-90 (1985), and more particularly, relate to the conditions existing on the claimant's job or involve acts by the claimant's employment unit. See § 8-1001(b)(1). An offer of greater pay by another employer to induce the claimant's voluntary termination does not qualify; because such offers are conditions of the offered employment and thus only relate to the conditions of the future employment. Although, to be sure, while affecting employment conditions generally, and, perhaps, the claimant's employment in some "way, they surely are not "directly attributable to, arising from or connected with" the conditions existing in the employing unit from which the claimant resigned. If an offer of greater pay can be "good cause" for an employee voluntarily to terminate otherwise satisfactory employment, then any condition of future employment which compares favorably with the claimant's present employment and is offered and accepted, as an inducement to the claimant to leave that employment, must also be considered "good cause."
This Court's holding in Paynter confirms this interpretation. There, the application of Md. Ann. Code art. 95A, § 6 (1957, 1979 Repl.Vol.), the predecessor to § 8-1001(a), to a school teacher who resigned as a result of what he alleged to be, and described as, harassment was before the Court. Paynter, 303 Md. at 26, 491 A.2d at 1188. At that time, § 6(a), as relevant, prescribed when an individual was disqualified for unemployment benefits, as follows:
(a) If the Executive Director[ ] finds that the individual's unemployment is due to his leaving work voluntarily without good cause. Only a cause which is directly attributable to, arising from, or connected with the conditions of employment or actions of the employer may be considered good cause.... Leaving work to become self-employed, to accompany or join one's spouse in a new locality, or to attend an educational institution is neither good cause nor a valid circumstance for voluntarily leaving work. Only a substantial cause which is directly attributable to, arising from, or connected with the conditions of employment or actions of the employer, or another cause of such a necessitous or compelling nature that the individual had no reasonable alternative other than to leave the employment may be considered a valid circumstance.... [ ]
Having concluded that the provisions of § 6(a) were unambiguous, we upheld the determination of the agency, affirmed by the Circuit Court, that the claimant's resignation was for good cause. We explained:
The Board of Education would have the "necessitous or compelling" provision related in the statute to valid circumstance apply equally to good cause. To do otherwise, it states, would result in a more onerous standard for the payment of limited benefits than for the payment of full benefits. This, it suggests, would be absurd in light of the purposes of the Unemployment Insurance Law and the policy regarding it announced by the legislature. (Citation omitted). The invalidity of the argument of the Board of Education is readily apparent on the face of the statute. Neither good cause nor valid circumstance may be predicated upon a purely personal reason. But, although the statute commands that good cause be job-related, it recognizes a cause in addition to one that is job-related with respect to a valid circumstance. It is this alternative cause provided with respect to valid circumstance, and not applicable to good cause, which must meet the "necessitous or compelling" test. Provision for the additional cause as to valid circumstance is clearly spelled out in the statute when it prescribes:
"Only a substantial cause which is directly attributable to, arising from, or connected with the conditions of employment or actions of the employer, or another cause of such necessitous or compelling nature that the individual had no reasonable alternative other than to leave the employment may be considered a valid circumstance." (Emphasis added).
The obvious rationale for the strict test required as to this alternative non-job-related cause is that if the employer must contribute to the payment of benefits arising from a cause not connected with the claimant's employment or the employer's actions, that cause should have a higher standard of proof. It is perfectly plain from the statutory language that the legislature did not intend that the necessitous or compelling requirement apply to good cause.
Id. at 29-30, 491 A.2d at 1190.
Similarly in Berdych v. Department of Employment and Training, 69 Md.App. 484, 518 A.2d 462 (1986), the intermediate appellate court observed:
Under that standard, DET must not permit a claimant to receive unemployment benefits unless his reasons for leaving the job were "directly attributable to, arising from, or connected with the conditions of employment or actions of the employer." . The manifest meaning of the statute requires that a claimant's reasons be job-related.
(Citations omitted).
The statutory scheme under § 8-1001 remains as it was when Paynter was decided and, as it did then, supports the interpretation the Paynter Court gave § 6(a). Subsection (c) continues to place circumstances for voluntarily leaving work into two categories and to draw a distinction between those that are work related and those that are not work related. Not being directly related to, attributable to or connected with the employee's employment or the actions of that employing unit, offers of higher pay as an inducement to leave existing employment must fall, if at all, into this latter category. As such, as Paynter makes clear, 303 Md. at 29, 491 A.2d at 1189-90, in order to be a valid circumstance, an offer of higher pay must meet the "necessitous and compelling" test. This is a stricter test than the test for good cause; more needs to be shown than that the precipitating event or cause "would reasonably [have] impelled] the average able-bodied qualified worker to give up his or her employment." Id. at 36-37, 491 A.2d at 1193, quoting Uniweld Products, Inc. v. Indus. Relations Comm'n, Etc., 277 So.2d 827, 829 (Fla. App. 4 Dist.1973).
Subsection (d), with its absolute disqualifications, provides further support, if any additional is necessary, for a construction of § 8-1001 to preclude benefits in this case. By denying unemployment benefits to employees who leave work to go into business, to relocate with a spouse or to go to school, that section makes clear that purely personal reasons for leaving work will not suffice as a predicate for unemployment benefits. It is difficult to reconcile, except on that basis — going into business for oneself is a personal matter — why the Legislature would permit an employee, who voluntarily terminates permanent and otherwise satisfactory employment for increased wages, on the theory that his or her prospects and financial condition are thereby improved, to be eligible for unemployment benefits, while at the same time denying the same right to a claimant, who, for the same reasons, voluntarily leaves work to go into business for him or herself. Accepting more money and changing jobs is as much of a gamble and thus, as much of a personal matter, as going into business for oneself. In our view, it is unmistakably clear that § 8-1001 (a) was not designed to provide benefits when the precipitating cause for the voluntary leaving of the employment was for higher pay or a better job. Instead, it was designed to prevent hardship to persons who lose their jobs, through no fault of their own. That intent is clear in § 8-102 of the Labor and Employment Article which provides:
(a) Interpretation and application. — This section is a guide to the interpretation and application of this title.
(b) Findings. — The General Assembly finds that:
(1) economic insecurity due to unemployment is a serious menace to the health, morals, and welfare of the people of the State;
(2) involuntary unemployment is a subject of general interest and concern that requires appropriate action by the General Assembly to prevent the spread of involuntary unemployment and to lighten its burden, which often falls with crushing force on the unemployed worker and the family of the unemployed worker;
(3) the achievement of security for society requires protection against involuntary unemployment, which is the greatest hazard of our economic lives; and
(4) security for society can be provided by encouraging employers to provide more stable employment and by the systematic accumulation of funds during periods of employment to provide benefits for periods of unemployment, maintaining the purchasing power, and limiting the serious social consequences of poor relief assistance.
(c) Statement of policy. — The General Assembly declares that, in its considered judgment, the public good and the general welfare of the citizens of the State require the enactment of this title, under the police powers of the State, for the compulsory setting aside of unemployment reserves to be used for the benefit of individuals unemployed through no fault of their own.
(Emphasis added).
Finally, § 8-611 is instructive and consistent. Section 8-1001(a) deals only with the reason for the claimant's unemployment and its effect on the claimant's eligibility to receive unemployment benefits; it does not address to which employer the eligibility for unemployment benefits relates. Furthermore, that section does not, and cannot be, intended to be used to calculate the allowable benefits, or to determine eligibility based upon funds available from contributions by each base employer. In this case, the claimant voluntarily left satisfactory employment with the petitioner for a job that paid more. There is no contention that he was laid off by the petitioner, through no fault of his own, or that he left to attend a qualified training program. Nor is there evidence, not to mention an allegation, that there were conditions of his employment or acts by the petitioner that were adverse to, or impacted negatively on, the claimant. Section 8-1001 does not, however, address whether the period of employment with the petitioner may be used to calculate the claimant's unemployment benefits or, in other words, whether those benefits are chargeable to the petitioner, the claimant's first employer. Section 8-611 addresses those issues.
Section 8-611 is clear in its proscriptions, one of which is that, when charging against the earned rating record of each base employer, contributions of previous base employers may not be used to determine eligibility for benefits where the claimant voluntarily left that employer's employment to accept better employment. Section 8 — 611(b) expressly provides:
Allocation of regular benefits. — Except as provided in subsection (d)[ ] of this section, the Secretary shall charge pro rata against the earned rating record of each base period employer all regular benefits and the share of extended benefits required under subsection (c)[ ] of this section in the same proportion as the wages paid by the base period employer is to the total wages of the claimant during the base period, and rounded to the nearest dollar.
(Emphasis added).
Under § 8-611(e), however, "[t]he Secretary may not charge benefits paid to a claimant against the earned rating record of an employing unit if . (4) the claimant left employment voluntarily to accept better employment or enter training approved by the Secretary." (Emphasis added). If, given the specific provisions of § 8-611(e)(4), the earned rating record of the employing unit which the claimant left voluntarily to accept better employment cannot be charged for the benefits payable as a result of a subsequent lay off, then it seems strange indeed that, as to that employing unit, leaving employment voluntarily to accept better employment would be considered good cause for leaving work. Thus, while, pursuant to § 8-1001(a), a claimant may be eligible for unemployment benefits, the determination whether those benefits should or may be paid is employer specific. Reading § 8-1001(a) as the appellee proposes would render § 8 — 611(e)(4) meaningless. See, Fraternal Order of Police, Montgomery County Lodge No. 35 v. Mehrling, 343 Md. 155, 180, 680 A.2d 1052, 1065 (1996) ("[n]or should we interpret a statutory scheme so as to render any part of it meaningless or nugatory.").
To be sure, the claimant may well have voluntarily left his employment with the petitioner and he may well have done so for good cause, at least from a practical, and even common sense, point of view. However, he was not, at the time of his voluntary departure eligible for unemployment benefits because the claimant left his employment with the petitioner for other employment and, in fact, entered into that employment. Therefore, the petitioner could not, at that time, have received unemployment benefits for the simple and inescapable reason that he was employed. That he subsequently becomes unemployed, and therefore eligible, because of the actions of the subsequent employer does not change the situation. The claimant's unemployment results from the subsequent employer's laying him off and not from the petitioner's actions. Rather, it was the claimant's inadvertent actions which led to his unemployment through the, perhaps very reasonable, acceptance of employment that supposedly paid better.
In conclusion, the appellee misconstrues § 8-1001 because it is clearly written to preclude the award of benefits for voluntarily leaving employment for greater pay. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the Circuit Court for Montgomery County.
JUDGMENT OF THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR MONTGOMERY COUNTY REVERSED. CASE REMANDED TO THAT COURT WITH INSTRUCTIONS TO VACATE THE ORDER OF THE BOARD OF APPEALS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, LICENSING AND REGULATION AND REMAND TO THAT AGENCY WITH INSTRUCTIONS TO DENY THE CLAIMANT'S APPLICATION FOR UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS. COSTS TO BE PAID BY THE APPELLEE.
Dissenting opinion by CATHELL, J., joined by ELDRIDGE and RAKER, JJ.
. All future references shall be to the 1999 Replacement Volume and as to the Labor and Employment Article, unless otherwise stated.
. There is an allegation that the petitioner threatened to sue Projection and that, for that reason, Projection laid the claimant off. Whether true or not, that is not a matter that is before this Court and thus can play no role in the decision of this case.
. Section 8-806 states in relevant part:
(a) In general. — (1) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section a claims examiner promptly shall make a determination on a claim filed under § 8-805(a) of this subtitle.
(2) Whenever a determination involves resolution of a dispute of material fact, a claims examiner shall:
(i) conduct a predetermination proceeding; and
(ii) give each party notice of the time and place of the proceeding.
(b) Referral to Board of Appeals. — (1) A claim shall be referred to the Board of Appeals if determination of the claim involves:
(i) a disqualification based on a stoppage of work due to a labor dispute;
(ii) multiple claims; or
(iii) a difficult issue of fact or law.
. Md. Ann. Code art. 95A, § 11(a) (1957, 1979 Repl.Vol.1984 Cum. Supp.) directed that "[w]herever in this article the word 'Executive Director' appears, it shall be construed to mean the Secretary of Employment and Training."
. Although formatted differently, the provisions of former § 6(a) and § 8-1001(a) are substantively the same. Indeed, the Special Revisor's note to § 8-1001 so reflects. See Md. Code Ann., Labor and Employment § 8-1001 (1991).
. Subsection (d) provides:
(d) Shut downs for convenience and work sharing programs. — The Secretary shall charge all regular and extended benefits paid to a claimant against the earned rating record of an employing unit that caused the claimant's unemployment during any period in which the unemployment is caused by:
(1) participation of the employing unit in a work sharing unemployment insurance program that the Secretary has approved; or
(2) a shutdown of the employing unit:
(i) to have employees take their vacations at the same time;
(ii) for inventory;
(iii) for retooling; or
(iv) for any other purpose that is primarily other than a lack of
work and that causes unemployment for a definite period.
. Subsection (c) provides:
Allocations of extended benefits. — (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, the Secretary may not charge against the earned rating record of an employing unit an extended benefit payment for which the State receives full reimbursement from the federal government.
(2) Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, the appropriate share of extended benefits:
(i) for a governmental entity, is all extended benefits paid to a claimant; and
(ii) for other employing units, is 50% of extended benefits paid to a claimant.