Branell Harris v. Virginia Employment Commission and Reston Hospital Center, LLC

**What happened:** Branell Harris was fired from his job at Reston Hospital Center and applied for unemployment benefits through the Virginia Employment Commission. The hospital claimed Harris was terminated for showing up to work while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The Employment Commission denied Harris's unemployment claim, saying his termination was due to workplace misconduct. Harris disagreed and took his case to court, arguing he should receive unemployment benefits. **What the court decided:** The Virginia Court of Appeals sided with the Employment Commission and the hospital. The court upheld the decision to deny Harris unemployment benefits, confirming that coming to work impaired by drugs or alcohol counts as serious workplace misconduct that disqualifies someone from receiving unemployment compensation. **Why this matters for workers:** This ruling reinforces that workers who are fired for being under the influence at work will likely be denied unemployment benefits. If you're terminated for drug or alcohol impairment on the job, don't expect to collect unemployment compensation - the state considers this serious misconduct. Workers should understand that substance use violations can result in both job loss and loss of unemployment safety net benefits.