Groups Want Mead to Veto Worker’s Misconduct Bill

The Equality State Policy Center and Wyoming State AFL-CIO are raising concerns about a bill awaiting action by Governor Matt Mead that deals with workers misconduct and eligibility for unemployment benefits. Dan Neal,Executive Director of the EQPC, says the bill originally started out dealing with denying unemployment benefits to workers fired for willful misconduct, but ended up being changed significantly.

To such a degree that we feel it would lead to people who make minor mistakes at work or make express some negative opinions about their bosses, they could be fired and denied unemployment insurance benefits.

Neal says there was broad support for the original bill and amendments and general agreement that workers fired for sabotage or actions to deliberately hurt an employer should not be able to collect unemployment. Neal says the language changes in the final bill raise questions about a 1986 Wyoming Supreme Court decision on worker misconduct and unemployment benefits. The two organizations are asking Governor Mead to veto the bill.