Bernard v. Unemployment Compensation Review Commission

{¶ 1} In this case, we consider whether earnings deposited into a flexible-spending account for reimbursement of medical costs under an employer’s cafeteria plan1 qualify as remuneration for purposes of determining an employee’s unemployment-compensation eligibility. We hold that they do not.

I. Facts

{¶2} Until December 2009, appellant, Claudia Bernard, was employed as a property caretaker by appellee Wakeman Educational Foundation (“Wakeman”). Bernard acknowledges that in 2009, she authorized Wakeman to deposit $900 of her monthly earnings into a flexible-spending account so that she could…