MADISON, Wis. (WSAU) — The case of a former Walgreens employee in Madison challenging for unemployment benefits will go before the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Lela Operton was fired from a Walgreens location in 2014 after several mistakes processing WIC check payments and failing to check for identification during a transaction nearing $400 with what turned out to be a stolen credit card. Operton was denied unemployment benefits because the Labor and Industry Review Commission (LIRC) found her to be at “substantial fault” in accordance with state laws preventing her from receiving benefits.
The case was taken to the state’s Court of Appeals, which ruled in favor of Operton in April, saying that her mistakes were more in line with “inadvertent errors” which are written as an exception to the “substantial fault” policy. Operton would still be entitled to the unemployment payments that she would have received should the ruling stand with the Supreme Court.
