Daka v. Director of Employment Security

The appellate court considered the question of whether plaintiff’s application to the Department of Employment Security for waiver of recovery of unemployment benefits was properly denied. Plaintiff had lost employment after his employer went out of business due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Plaintiff was granted unemployment benefits despite disclosing that he was employed by another company but, despite that disclosure, he marked that he was not working on his weekly certifications. Plaintiff argued he was entitled to a waiver of recovery under a provision of the law that provided for waiver recoupment for benefits received without fault during the pandemic. The appellate court affirmed the denial, finding no error in the denial of the waiver based on the facts of the case. (JORGENSEN and MULLEN, concurring)