Lee-Norse Company v. Phyllis J. Rutledge, Clerk

Summary

The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals held that employees locked out by their employer during ongoing contract negotiations — where no strike occurred and the workers were willing to work on a day-to-day basis — are not disqualified from unemployment benefits under W.Va. Code, 21A-6-3(4), because their unemployment was not 'because of' a labor dispute. The court overruled Syllabus Point 1 of Cumberland and Allegheny Gas Company v. Hatcher and Syllabus Point 2 of Miners in General Group v. Hix, reasoning that the Act's remedial purpose of compensating involuntary unemployment forbids using the labor-dispute disqualification as a weapon to enforce a lockout. The circuit court's reversal of the Board of Review was affirmed and benefits were granted to otherwise eligible claimants.