The Commonwealth Court has ruled that union employees of Temple University Health System and Temple University Hospital were eligible to continue receiving unemployment compensation benefits during a work stoppage caused by a labor dispute because the stoppage constituted a lockout rather than a strike.
In Temple University Health System v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, a three-judge panel unanimously affirmed a decision by the state Unemployment Compensation Review Board, which found that Temple employees were not ineligible for benefits under Section 402(d) of the Unemployment Compensation Law during a work stoppage precipitated by a dispute over Temple’s decision to discontinue tuition reimbursement for part-time employees and the dependents of full-time employees.
