Lacy

The Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board sustained the decision of a referee who held that petitioner Mary E. Lacy was disqualified for unemployment insurance benefits because she had been discharged from her last employment for misconduct. Section 1256, Unemployment Insurance Code, disqualifies an individual who has been discharged for misconduct connected with his most recent work. Mrs. Lacy brought a mandate proceeding in the superior court. That court reviewed the transcript of testimony at the hearing and ordered the board to vacate its decision and award benefits. The board and the employer appeal.

In this case the administrative agency and the superior court viewed a single body of evidence—the testimony taken at the referee’s hearing— and indulged in dissident findings. The agency found that Mrs. Lacy had been demoted by her employer, who then instructed her to train the man who was her replacement and new superior; that the instruction was reasonable and she was guilty of misconduct in refusing to comply. The superior court judge viewed the identical evidence, found that the employee’s refusal to comply was reasonable and absolved her from the charge of…