Sarah Ropelato '07 Triumphs in California Supreme Court Unemployment Benefits Case
Sarah Ropelato '07, a staff attorney with Legal Services of Northern California, helped to win an impressive victory in Paratransit v. CUIAB, a case she argued before the California Supreme Court. The decision, which is expected to have broad implications for the state's administration of unemployment benefits, has drawn media attention, including articles in the Sacramento Bee, San Francisco Chronicle, and numerous legal blogs.
The case concerned a Sacramento County bus driver who was accused of harassment by a passenger. Although the driver denied the allegations, his employer agreed with the passenger and suspended him for two days without pay. The driver refused to sign a disciplinary notice informing him of the decision, believing it to be an admission of guilt, and was fired for insubordination and denied unemployment benefits. After a six-year legal battle, the case reached the state Supreme Court, which found that the driver's refusal to sign the notice "was not misconduct but, at most, a good-faith error in judgment that did not disqualify him from unemployment benefits."