Case Name: Gonzalo VELILLA, Appellant, v. WILLIAMS ISLAND, a Private Club, Ltd., and The Florida Unemployment Appeals Commission, Appellees
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 1998-02-11
Citations: 705 So. 2d 1044
Docket Number: No. 97-2053
Parties: Gonzalo VELILLA, Appellant, v. WILLIAMS ISLAND, a Private Club, Ltd., and The Florida Unemployment Appeals Commission, Appellees.
Judges: Before SCHWARTZ, C.J., and GREEN and SHEVIN, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 705
Pages: 1044–1045

Head Matter:
Gonzalo VELILLA, Appellant, v. WILLIAMS ISLAND, a Private Club, Ltd., and The Florida Unemployment Appeals Commission, Appellees.
No. 97-2053.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.
Feb. 11, 1998.
De La 0, Marko & Wang and Miguel M. De La 0, for appellant.
William T. Moore, Tallahassee, for appel-lee, Unemployment Appeals Commission.
Before SCHWARTZ, C.J., and GREEN and SHEVIN, JJ.

Opinion:
SCHWARTZ, Chief Judge.
Velilla left his employment as a restaurant busser after a conversation with a labor "counselor" for his employer. Velilla testified that the counselor fired him. Another employee stated that she had been told by the counselor that Velilla quit. The counsel- or did not testify. Nonetheless, the appeals referee found that the appellant had "voluntarily quit his position" and the unemployment appeals commission affirmed the denial of benefits on that ground.
Because it is based upon pure hearsay which is directly contrary to the only direct testimony on the point, the factual conclusion that the appellant voluntarily left his employment and was therefore ineligible for unemployment compensation benefits cannot stand. Spicer v. Metro. Dade County, 458 So.2d 792 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984), and cases cited; Campbell v. Cent. Fla. Zoological Soc'y, 432 So.2d 684 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983); City of Fort Lauderdale v. Florida Unemployment Appeals Comm'n, 536 So.2d 1074 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988). On this record, the referee was bound to find that Velilla had been involuntarily discharged and was therefore entitled to the benefits claimed. See Gulf County Sch. Bd. v. Washington, 567 So.2d 420 (Fla.1990). Accordingly the order below is reversed with directions to grant him those benefits.
Reversed.