After both parties had presented their cases and rested, a limited inquiry by the referee into the basic background facts needed to issue a decision and order did not open the door for the employer to cross-examine the claimant regarding the very substance of the claim for benefits, especially where the employer chose not to call claimant as an adverse witness during its case and employer specifically declined to testify on his own behalf and in support of his claim for benefits.
Because the employer could have called claimant as a witness before it rested and the referee limited his inquiry into confirming only that claimant did not dispute that he was discharged, we discern no abuse of discretion in prohibiting cross-examination regarding the circumstances of the discharge in this case.
The opinion, though not reported, may be cited "for its persuasive value, but not as binding precedent." 210 Pa. Code § 67.55. Citing Judicial Opinions.
