We granted review to consider whether the “voluntary
layoff option” proviso (“VLO Proviso”) contained in Section 402(b) of the
Unemployment Compensation Law (“UC Law”), 43 P.S. § 802(b),1 permits employees to receive
unemployment compensation benefits when they accept an early retirement plan
offered pursuant to an employer-initiated workforce reduction.
Upon application of our rules of statutory construction, we reverse the decision of the Commonwealth Court and conclude that the UC Law does not preclude application of the VLO Proviso to early retirement plans offered pursuant to employer-initiated workforce reductions.
