DC 200.4 Criminal Charges

Click on the case numbers below to access eligibility decisions where pending criminal charges underlie a claimant’s discharge. Additional decisions concerning more specific issues on this topic can be accessed by clicking the related links.

0032 7435 16

0032 7435 16 (Apr. 22, 2021) – Employer had an obligation to ask about a criminal record on its job application for a pharmacy delivery position.  The claimant deliberately lied on his application just so he could get a job.  When the employer found out, it fired him.  The claimant was disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits under G.L. c. 151A, § 25(e)(2).

0018 1936 49

0018 1936 49 (Oct. 21, 2016) – Claimant did not engage in deliberate misconduct in wilful disregard of the employer’s interest merely by having unsubstantiated larceny charges brought against her.  She was not aware that she had to inform the employer of the open charges, and MA law prohibits the employer from inquiring about criminal charges that did not result in a conviction.

0012 3566 59

0012 3566 59 (Mar. 5, 2015) – Discharge for failing to report a pending criminal charge on employment application was not deliberate misconduct in wilful disregard of employer’s interest, because the application question was unlawful, in violation of G.L. c. 151B, § 4(9).