Court says worker’s misconduct firing warranted comp benefits suspension

A Florida appellate court upheld a determination that an injured worker was fired for misconduct and not entitled to disability benefits after losing his job.

As documented in Cobb v. TECO Energy Inc., Leroy Cobb Jr. was working for TECO Energy in 2023 when he injured his wrist. He was released to light-duty work after the accident, and TECO accommodated his restrictions.

The company fired Cobb in May 2023 based on reports that he had been sitting in a truck, doing nothing, while on company time, according to the ruling.

After his termination, a dispute arose over his entitlement to temporary partial disability benefits.

Florida law provides that temporary partial disability benefits are not payable if an employee is fired from post-injury employment based on misconduct. The law defines misconduct as that “evincing such willful or wanton disregard of an employer’s interests as is found in deliberate violation or disregard of standards of behavior which the employer has the right to expect of the employee; or carelessness or negligence of such a degree or recurrence as to manifest culpability, wrongful intent or evil design, or to show an intentional and substantial disregard of an employer’s interests or of the employee’s duties and obligations to the employer.”

A judge of compensation claims found that Mr. Cobb was not entitled to benefits because he was fired for misconduct.

The Court of Appeal for the 1st District of Florida said there was competent, substantial evidence in the record to support the judge’s factual findings that Mr. Cobb was “an average employee at best” who was not a “team player” and “simply refused to follow policies and rules.”

The claims judge further found that TECO presented “cumulative and redundant testimony” that detailed numerous instances of behavior by Mr. Cobb that were contrary to the company’s code of conduct and that he had repeated violations of explicit policies, even after several warnings. That judge concluded that the “repeated problems with his behavior” amounted to misconduct by Mr. Cobb.

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