Unemployment benefits can't be collected by lawyer accused of drinking on job, appeals court says
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A New Jersey lawyer fired for allegedly drinking at work is not entitled to unemployment benefits, a state appeals court has ruled.
The court ruled in the case of Diannajean Giganti, the New Jersey Law Journal (sub. req.) reports. The appeals court said drinking on the job amounted to severe misconduct in the workplace that disqualified her for benefits under state statute.
Giganti had contended she drank alcohol only three times for special events while working at Jenkins & Clayman. A former paralegal at the firm had supported Giganti’s assertions at a hearing on the benefits. Giganti had also claimed she was fired in retaliation for a prior sexual harassment claim.
The appeals court, however, cited witnesses for the employer that “amply supported” the law firm’s accusation of drinking on the job. The court referred to testimony by a secretary who testified that Giganti would send her to the liquor store to buy vodka for the office, even though the secretary was too young to buy alcohol.
Before firing Giganti, Jenkins & Clayman had placed her on a 30-day probation period stemming from a bankruptcy trustee’s complaint that she was late, disruptive and apparently intoxicated during a hearing, the opinion said. A statement memorializing the probation decision said Giganti took long lunches, arrived at work intoxicated, and left paperwork incomplete or poorly done.
Workers said Giganti continued to drink at the office, and the law firm fired her in March 2011.
Giganti’s lawyer did not respond to the New Jersey Law Journal’s request for comment. A phone number listed for Giganti in court records was not working, and the publication was unable to reach her for comment.
