Woman fired for working during her lunch break wins unemployment claim

A receptionist that was fired because she continued to work during her lunch break was finally awarded her unemployment benefits. A Chicago judge ruled that the decision to deny her benefits - which then started a two-year battle - was 'clearly erroneous'. The row started when Sharon Smiley, 48, punched out for lunch in January 2010 but then remained at her desk to finish up an extra assignment that she had been given. Ms Smiley had worked at the real estate firm for 10 years at that point and was very familiar with the policy of taking a mandatory 30 minute break for lunch.

On that particular Thursday, Ms Smiley didn't want anything to eat, so she stayed at her desk and worked. 'I thought, "Well, I'm not hungry; I'll just do this work … so when I get back from lunch, I can do my original work that I'm supposed to be doing,"' she said. A manager approached her and told her to take her break. When she remained at her desk, the manager got human resources involved, who argued that she was violating Illinois Labour Laws that require employers to give their workers a break.



Her employers, Equity Lifestyle Properties Inc., were likely already wary about Ms Smiley's workload since a stroke in July of the previous year which prompted her to miss about three months of work. Legally, the company had a right to be concerned about Ms Smiley's over-eager behaviour: the law says that employers are liable if they knowingly allow their employees to work during lunch. The company then fired her on the grounds that her refusal to go to lunch - the first time she'd ever done so - qualified as insubordination and considered her behaviour misconduct. On those grounds, they were able to deny payment of her unemployment benefits.

After pleading her case to lawyers who thought she was a lost cause, Ms Smiley decided to embark on the legal battle solo. Finally, after three denials from the state employment review board as well as a circuit court appeal all of which lasted two years, a judge ruled in her favour. Ms Smiley was awarded a percentage of her one-time salary and then $528 every two weeks until she found another job from the point the order was made. Thankfully, that wasn't too long: Ms Smiley is now a receptionist at a different company. It was never her intention to ask for her old job back, she was just looking for the unemployment benefits.