Martin v. California Department of Employment

Opinion

WEINBERGER, J.* This is an appeal from a judgment denying the petition of appellant for a peremptory writ of mandate against respondents California Department of Employment et al. (now known as the Department of Human Resources Development, hereafter “Department”). [806]The parties have filed an agreed statement establishing that appellant received a work connected injury for which he filed a workmen’s compensation application and began receiving compensation payments of $70 per week commencing in May 1969. Benefits at that weekly amount continued for 10 months until appellant had received in excess of $2,210, whereupon he filed a claim in April 1970 for unemployment compensation disability insurance (UCD). Upon receiving the claim the Department computed the applicable benefit rate at $85 per week and the maximum total benefit amount at $2,210. The examiner of the Department denied the claim on the ground that petitioner had exhausted the maximum benefits payable to him for his benefit period. An appeal of the examiner’s denial of benefits was taken and heard before a referee, who rendered a decision affirming the disqualification.

Petitioner then appealed the referee’s decision to respondent California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board. The board rejected petitioner’s claim, on the basis of California Unemployment Insurance Code sections 2629 and 2653.

Petitioner then sought a writ of mandate from the San Francisco County Superior Court to compel respondents to set aside their denial of benefits. A judgment was entered denying the request for a peremptory writ of mandamus and discharging the alternative writ which had been issued. This appeal is from that judgment.

Without the citation of any authority, and despite authority to the contrary, appellant has maintained, as he does in this appeal, that he is entitled to the maximum total UCD benefit of $2,210 in addition to workmen’s compensation payments so long as these payments, on a daily or weekly basis, are less than the daily or weekly amount he might have received under UCD.

Section 2653 of the California Unemployment Insurance Code reads in relevant part: “The maximum amount of benefits payable to an individual during any one disability benefit period shall be 26 times his weekly benefit amount, . . .” The Department, having determined that appellant’s weekly amount was $85, computed the maximum amount of benefits payable to appellant during the disability period resulting from his industrial injury to be $2,210, which is 26 times the weekly benefit amount. Section 2629 of the California Unemployment Insurance Code reads: “Except as provided in this section, an individual is not eligible for disability benefits for any day of unemployment and disability for which he has received, or is entitled to receive benefits, in the form of cash payments for temporary