Ohio Supreme Court: No license 'just cause' for firing

COLUMBUS (AP) — The Ohio Supreme Court says a worker fired for not obtaining a necessary professional license or certification is not eligible to receive unemployment benefits.

The state’s highest court reversed a lower court decision today and ruled 7-0 that not complying with such a requirement amounts to “just cause” for dismissal under Ohio’s unemployment compensation laws.

The ruling came in the case of a Cleveland social worker who was promoted to a management position on the condition that she receive a certification within 15 months. She missed a testing date due to illness, did not receive a passing score when she finally took the exam and was not allowed to redo it until well after the deadline she’d been given.

She applied for unemployment after she was fired in 2008.