Cerberonics, Inc. v. Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board

Cerberonics, Inc., as an employer, appeals a judgment of the superior court confirming the order of California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board charging its reserve for unemployment benefits paid its discharged employee, Mary A. LeCompte. The facts are not in dispute.

LeCompte was employed by Cerberonics as a technical typist from August 1978, until her termination on August 21, 1979. Cerberonics was the successful bidder for a government contract which provided technical services especially in the nature of typing of technical reports. In the summer of 1979, the contract was up for renewal and Cerberonics was actively bidding for a renewal of the contract for followup work.

The bidding on this contract was price competitive but a major criterion for judging the successful bidder was its ability to perform. As a part of the bid, the government required the bidders to provide resumes of the personnel who would be doing the work.

As the incumbent contractor, Cerberonics felt it had the advantage of experienced personnel and wanted to maintain the advantage. If its competitors were able to represent they would be using the same personnel as Cerberonics, it would lose…