Ariadne Panagopoulou Recaptures Worker’s Unemployment Benefits

Ariadne Panagopoulou, Chair of PN’s Labor and Employment Department, Recaptures Worker’s Unemployment Benefits

A worker at a national furniture retailer was fired after he was attacked by a co-worker.  His work had been described by his supervisors as "exemplary." He was a gentle man and a hard worker for eight years. His reward from the employer?  Termination.

The discarded worker, for the first time in his life, applied for unemployment benefits so that he could pay his bills.  The employer, for no good reason, tried to have him disqualified, so he came to Ariadne for help.

At the administrative trial, Ariadne convinced the Department of Labor's Administrative Law Judge that the worker did not engage in conduct that would disqualify him from receiving benefits. The worker received his benefits and the satisfaction of fighting back against the bully furniture company.