ST. LOUIS — The Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, has reversed a decision by the state’s Labor and Industrial Relations Commission that granted unemployment benefits to a former McDonald’s employee.
The court found that the commission’s decision was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence and determined that the employee, Kiara Page, was terminated for misconduct, disqualifying her from receiving benefits.
The case involves Valhalla Restaurants which operates a McDonald’s franchise in Nixa/Mt. Vernon.
The company argued that Page was terminated for multiple violations of company policy, including excessive tardiness, unexcused absences and insubordination.
The Appeals Tribunal originally ruled in favor of Page, finding that her termination was not due to misconduct.
However, the Missouri Court of Appeals ruled that Page’s chronic violations of the company’s attendance policy were sufficient grounds to deny her unemployment benefits.
Page began working as a crew member at the McDonald’s location on Aug. 1, 2023.
According to company policy, employees were required to notify the store at least two hours in advance of any absence and to call in if they were going to be late.
Between Dec. 19, 2023, and Feb. 1, 2024, Page had eight instances of unexcused tardiness and two unexcused absences. Due to these violations, she was suspended on Feb. 1, 2024.
After her suspension, Page continued to arrive late to every shift, with an on-time rate of 0%.
The company ultimately terminated her employment on March 18, 2024.
In addition to her attendance issues, the company cited a verbal altercation with a supervisor on March 17, 2024, as a contributing factor in her termination.
The company also claimed that Page had engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a minor co-worker, though this allegation was deemed hearsay and was not a primary factor in the court’s ruling.
Page applied for unemployment benefits on March 27, 2024. Initially, the Missouri Division of Employment Security denied her claim, citing misconduct. However, upon appeal, the Appeals Tribunal reversed the decision, ruling that Page’s termination was not due to misconduct connected with her work. The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission upheld this ruling.
Valhalla Restaurants then appealed to the Missouri Court of Appeals, arguing that the Commission had ignored substantial and uncontroverted evidence that Page’s chronic tardiness and absenteeism violated a clear company policy. The company contended that these repeated violations constituted misconduct under Missouri law and should disqualify her from receiving unemployment benefits.
The Missouri Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Valhalla Restaurants, stating that the commission failed to consider key evidence regarding Page’s attendance violations.
Under Missouri law, misconduct includes chronic absenteeism or tardiness in violation of a known company policy. The court found that Page had been repeatedly warned about her attendance issues and had already been suspended for the same violations before being terminated.
The court determined that the Appeals Tribunal and Commission incorrectly focused on the verbal altercation with a supervisor as the “final act” leading to termination rather than considering the full scope of Page’s misconduct.
The ruling notes that an employee can be fired for multiple reasons, and the presence of one incident does not negate other documented violations of company policy.
In its ruling, the court reversed the commission’s decision and remanded the case with instructions to deny Page’s application for unemployment benefits.
McDonald's media relations declined to comment on the case.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District case number: SD38584