Roberts v. State of Montana Board of Labor Appeals

**Roberts v. State of Montana Board of Labor Appeals** This case involved a school employee who was fired from Lame Deer Public School District and then applied for unemployment benefits. The employee had maintained a separate account for the school's Future Farmers of America (FFA) program and was accused of misusing those funds, which violated the school district's financial policies. The employee challenged the denial of unemployment benefits, arguing the firing was unfair. However, the Montana Supreme Court sided with the state's Board of Labor Appeals, which had originally denied the benefits. The court found there was strong evidence that the employee had indeed violated school financial policies by keeping a separate FFA account and mishandling the money in it. **What this means for workers:** This ruling reinforces that employees fired for misconduct cannot collect unemployment benefits. Workers should be especially careful to follow their employer's financial policies and procedures exactly as written. Even if an employee believes they were trying to help their organization (like managing program funds), straying from official policies can be considered misconduct serious enough to disqualify them from unemployment compensation. Always get written approval before handling company money in ways that might violate established procedures.