A-21-0650 Saied Badawi (Appellant) v. John Albin, Commissioner of the Nebraska Department of Labor, the Nebraska Department of Labor, and JBS Swift Beef
Douglas County District Court, Judge Timothy P. Burns
Attorneys: Zachary W. Anderson (Legal Aid of Nebraska for Saied Badawi who is appealing this case) — Katie Thurber & Elizabeth Cano (for the Nebraska Dept. of Labor) and Ruth A. Horvatich (McGrath North, P.C. L.L.O for JBS Swift Beef)
Civil: Unemployment benefits
Proceedings Below: Appellant filed for unemployment benefits and received a disqualification for unemployment benefits. He requested an appeal from the Nebraska Department of Labor. The Administrative Law Judge modified the decision finding Appellant was discharged due to misconduct rather than voluntarily quitting his job. Appellant appealed to the Douglas County District Court. The district court, Judge Burns, affirmed the decision of the Nebraska Appeal Tribunal of the Department of Labor which determined that Appellant was discharged from JBS Swift Beef for misconduct in the workplace and was disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits for 14 weeks. Badawi filed a Notice of Appeal with the Nebraska Court of Appeals. The appeal was moved to the Nebraska Supreme Court. The parties to the case have filed briefs arguing each position to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has set the matter for an oral argument.
Issues on appeal before the Supreme Court: Appellant Badawi assigns that the district court erred in affirming the decision of the Appeal Tribunal in finding he was discharged for misconduct, and disqualified from unemployment benefits. Appellant also alleges that JBS failed to meet its burden of proof to show that he engaged in misconduct by a preponderance of the evidence, and that JBS did not demonstrate good cause for dismissal.