The Supreme Court holds that, pursuant to its decision in Government v. Crooke, it possesses jurisdiction, under the collateral order doctrine, with respect to the portion of a Superior Court order holding that the Department of Labor violated the appellee's due process rights, but lacks jurisdiction over all other issues. With respect to the due process issue, the Supreme Court holds that the Superior Court did not err when it considered the issue for the first time in the appellee's petition for writ of review because section 306 of title 24 of the Virgin Islands Code provides that, in unemployment benefits context, exceptions to rulings of an administrative law judge not necessary to obtain judicial review. Finally, the Supreme Court affirms the Superior Court's holding that the DOL violated the appellee's due process rights because the administrative law judge deprived the appellee of a fair hearing by allowing her former employer to submit evidence on an ex parte basis after the hearing had already concluded.
Supreme Court Of The Virgin Islands