City worker fired for misappropriation denied unemployment
Linda Johnson was ousted from her post after an audit showed $156,000 was wrongly spent. But she argued in court that she was due unemployment benefits for her nearly 18 years of service at the housing authority.
In an opinion released late last week, the state Court of Appeals disagreed, saying there was proof Johnson was guilty of misconduct.
“She had a duty to insure that the program’s funds were expended properly, and it is clear that she did not do this,” Senior Appellate Judge William H. Inman Sr. wrote.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development says an audit found that Johnson had used HUD money improperly. She was fired from the housing authority in December 2001.
Authorities say the audit revealed the money was used to buy shoes, socks, coats and other clothing items.
Johnson also was accused of disregarding an order to get rid of a horse donated to the housing authority. The board of directors thought the horse too expensive, but Johnson instead decided she might make one of the security officers a mounted patrol, according to the opinion.
The agency ended up paying for horse training and a shelter for the horse.
The appeals court agreed with an earlier finding by the unemployment review board that “such excessive purchases out of public funds that were intended for the betterment of public housing were a conscious misuse of those funds and justified her termination for cause.”
Because Johnson “breached a duty owed to her employer,” she is not entitled to unemployment benefits, the appellate court concluded.