Facts
The case concerns a primary school teacher ([A.]) who was employed by a private school from September 1, 1987 to July 31, 2019. On August 14, 2018, the employer terminated the employment relationship, whereupon [A.] decided to take early retirement as of August 1, 2019. On July 19, 2019, he registered with the Regional Employment Center and applied for unemployment benefits as of the following month. However, the Unemployment Insurance Fund of the Canton of Zurich rejected the application, as [A.] did not meet the required 12-month contribution period.
The Social Insurance Court of the Canton of Zurich dismissed A.'s appeal. Thereupon, [A.] filed a public law appeal with the Federal Supreme Court, seeking the annulment of the cantonal court's decision and a finding that he met the contribution period and thus the eligibility requirements for unemployment benefits.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court states that according to the previous case law, insured persons who terminate their employment relationship themselves and thus leave the pension fund are not covered by the exception in Art. 12 para. 2 lit. a AVIV. Accordingly, [A.] would not be entitled to have the contribution period completed prior to his early retirement taken into account.
However, the Federal Supreme Court sees reason to change this case law. It states that the previous case law leads to a privileging of those dismissed for economic reasons, which is incompatible with the principle of equal treatment and the prohibition of arbitrariness. Therefore, it is correct and permissible under federal law to…