Summary
holding that the referee properly concluded that the employee quit with "good cause" where the employee presented unrebutted evidence that she left her job because her employer was requiring her to backdate ticket orders, which employee considered improper, unprofessional, and illegal
Summary of this case from Ortega v. Fla. Unemp. Appeals Com'nOpinion
No. 94-0656.
June 14, 1995.
Appeal from the Unemployment Appeals Commission.
Jean C. Gorr, Margate, pro se appellant.
William T. Moore, Tallahassee, for Appellee-Unemployment Appeals Commission
We reverse, as manifestly against the weight of the evidence, the decision of the Unemployment Appeals Commission which reversed the determination of the appeals referee and denied Appellant benefits.
The appeals referee found that Appellant had good cause for voluntarily leaving her employment with a travel agency based on evidence of uncertainty the employer had created about the agency's operation in the immediate future. The company was in financial difficulty and was threatened with the loss of its bond, which had been cancelled and would probably not be renewed, and the owner was disposing of the business. The commission rejected the referee's decision, finding the working conditions in the record were not such as would impel the average worker to give up employment.
At the hearing before the appeals referee, which the employer did not attend, Appellant testified to numerous job problems and reasons for leaving. Her testimony included unrebutted evidence that a principal reason for her departure was that the employer was performing, and requiring her to perform, acts, such as unauthorized backdating of ticket orders, which she considered improper, unprofessional, and illegal.
Although we are not aware of any Florida opinion that previously has held this to be the case, we believe that an employer's requiring an employee to perform acts which the employee reasonably believes violate the law furnishes the employee with good cause, attributable to the employer, to voluntarily leave employment, within the meaning of section 443.101(1)(a), Florida Statutes. See generally O'Brien v. Employment Appeal Bd., 494 N.W.2d 660 (Iowa 1993); Parnell v. River Bend Carriers, Inc., 484 N.W.2d 442 (Minn. Ct. App. 1992); Hawthorne v. Universal Studios, Inc., 432 N.W.2d 759 (Minn. Ct. App. 1988).
As the evidence is unrebutted, we see no need for a hearing on remand to make any further determination concerning Appellant's motivation for leaving her employment. Accordingly, we reverse and direct that Appellant be deemed qualified to receive benefits.
GLICKSTEIN, STONE and FARMER, JJ., concur.