• BR-117836 pdf format of BR-117836

    BR-117836 (Oct. 31, 2011) DC 400.1 - A majority of the board awarded benefits under G.L. c. 151A, § 25(e)(2), because the claimant’s inability to control his alcoholism triggered his drunk driving, the loss of his license, and caused him to lose his job. Claimant’s inability to control his alcoholism rendered the separation involuntary and constituted mitigating circumstances within the meaning of the Supreme Judicial Court’s Shephard decision.

  • BR-109710 pdf format of BR-109710

    BR-109710 (Mar. 18, 2010) -- Awarded benefits to claimant who was fired for alcohol-related misconduct, because the employer failed to prove that the claimant either had control over his alcoholism or deliberately refused to control it.  The Board notes that it is reviewing this long-standing rule in light of recent changes in disability law.

  • BR-103415-A pdf format of BR-103415-A

    BR-103415-A (June 28, 2007) -- Denied benefits to police officer fired for committing assault and battery off duty. Board rejected proposition that the claimant's alcoholism mitigated misconduct of a serious nature. Held acts of violence against another person to be deliberate misconduct directly antithetical to the core public protection mission of the police. [Note: The District Court affirmed the Board of Review's decision.]