Bryant v. Florida Unemployment Appeals Commission

In this unemployment compensation appeal, we must decide whether an attorney who becomes unemployed loses eligibility by working full time as a sole practitioner when his law firm earned a nominal amount of income during the relevant time period. We hold the Commission erred as a matter of law in its interpretation of the statutory definition of “totally unemployed” in section 443.036, Florida Statute, because that statute requires that a person work and receive remuneration. We interpret the statute to create two criteria that must be met before a person can be found ineligible under the…