Kaylor

*734 Opinion

Appellant, having been discharged from his job with Pacific States Steel Corporation and having been denied unemployment insurance by the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board (hereafter “the Board”), sought a writ of mandate to compel an order for payment. The writ was denied. He appeals.

Kaylor was cited for driving a motor vehicle without an operator’s license. It was discovered that a bench warrant had been issued for his arrest for failure to appear in court on another traffic violation. After trial, he was sentenced to pay a fine of $120 or to serve seven days in jail. Although he had some earned wages and asked his supervisor to provide him with funds for bail or to pay the fine, he was.unsuccessful. He was unable to pay the fine. So he spent the seven days in jail. Once his jail term had started, the referee found, he was not allowed to telephone. The company knew where he was, so that the provision in the contract allowing termination of employment upon three days unreported absence is unavailable.

The decisions of the referee and of the Board denying benefits were based on Unemployment Insurance Code section 1256.1, which reads, in pertinent part: “(a)…