Martinez v. Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board

Opinion

ASHBY, J. Pifie M. Martinez (appellant) appeals from a judgment denying his petition for a writ of mandate requiring the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board (respondent) to set aside its decision that he had not shown good cause for his failure to file a timely appeal from a decision denying benefits.

Appellant had been employed by the Broadway Department Store as a commissary baker. His employment there was terminated on October 11, 1974. On November 21 he filed a claim for unemployment insurance benefits. On December 10, 1974, his claim was denied. Prior to receiving written notice of that denial, appellant had gone to the [502]Employment Development Department (formerly Department of Human Resources Development) for an interview and was informed that his claim had been denied. He requested an appeal form, but was told by the clerk to wait until he received the written notice of determination.1 Appellant received the written notice of determination on December 12, 1974. The.notification informed appellant that he was disqualified from receiving unemployment compensation benefits, and in bold-faced type on the front page it stated that: “Any Appeal From This Notice Must Be Filed on or Before December 20, 1974, to Be Timely.”2 On January 9, 1975, appellant filed his appeal.

On February 3, 1975, the hearing on that appeal was held before Referee Michael Weiss. Appellant testified that he had received the notice of determination but only read the middle part that said he was disqualified. He gave his reasons for not filing the appeal on time as follows:

“A. [Appellant] Both of them, well, they turned me down, you know, giving me the request to appeal. So I went home and then when I got the letter from them, two days later, you know, that was—I was still sort of mad about it, and you just read where I was disqualified, and I think it says, well, disqualified because I didn’t call in, and so I just left it there and I said, ‘Well, I’m going to appeal this,’ and I had to move in between that time; and then my wife and kids got sick, down with the flu, so I had to take care of them.

“Q. [Referee] Do you know when they got sick?

“A. (No Audible Response)

“Q. Was it—how soon after you got this paper, yellow paper, determination?