Court Opinion

ID: 9774198
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 18:11:04.998475+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:32:03.338875
License: Public Domain

CONCURRING OPINION BY
President Judge LEADBETTER.
I concur in the result reached by the majority. However, when a claimant asserts that she has unintentionally violated a work rule because of a medical condition, I believe that competent evidence of that condition is needed whether the case is analyzed under the “good cause” standard or the “willfulness” standard, so we must address the competency of the claimant’s evidence in either event.
Moreover, I believe that, ordinarily, corroborative medical evidence, either documentary or testimonial, should be required, or at least some corroborating circumstances. Thus, I would revisit those prior published opinions which suggest, in dicta,1 that the claimant’s testimony alone is sufficient as a matter of law. I would not do so here, however, for two reasons. Arguably, medical condition or not, anyone left alone in a room for hours on end late at night with nothing to do might well fall asleep unintentionally. Second, because of this claimant’s significant prior medical history and pre-termination complaints to employer, I would find her credited testimony to be sufficient.

. I note that even in those cases discussed by the majority, such as Goettler v. Unemployment Comp. Bd. of Rev., 96 Pa.Cmwlth. 632, 508 A.2d 630 (1986), in which we have said either the claimant's testimony or documentary evidence was sufficient, there was some corroborating documentation in addition to the claimant's testimony. See also, Judd v. Unemployment Comp. Bd. of Rev., 91 Pa. Cmwlth. 372, 496 A.2d 1377 (1985).