Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / Jun 7, 2022
Suzanne Koenen, Appellant, vs. BRG Liberty, LLC, and Division of Employment Security, Respondents.
Suzanne Koenen appealed the Missouri Labor and Industrial Relations Commission's denial of her unemployment benefits claim. Her employer, BRG Liberty, LLC, reduced her hours and eventually removed her from the schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but then claimed she voluntarily quit by failing to report for work. The appellate court reversed and remanded, holding that the Commission's finding that Koenen failed to report for shifts was based solely on hearsay testimony to which an objection could be inferred, and that the record instead showed Koenen was laid off due to pandemic-related cutbacks and made reasonable efforts to find work.