Reference no: EM132207505

A store held a July 4 barbecue for its employees. There were leftovers. The manager in charge said that he wanted the unused hot dogs and hamburgers to be placed in a break room freezer so that they could be used for a planned Labor Day barbecue. The next day, a store employee ate two of the leftover hotdogs which apparently had been placed in the break room refrigerator rather than the freezer. The manager reviewed a surveillance video and identified the employee as the “suspected hotdog thief.” The manager confronted the employee and he admitted to eating the hot dogs. It was not clear whether the employee had heard the manager’s order to have the food placed in the freezer for future use, although the manager believed that he did the employee was presented with the option of signing a statement admitting guilt or “spending the night in jail.” The employee signed the statement and was promptly terminated for theft of company property. He filed for unemployment insurance and his claim was contested. Is this employee eligible for unemployment insurance? Why or why not?