Opinion
Argued November 17, 1980
April 1, 1981.
Unemployment compensation — Voluntary termination — Unemployment Compensation Law, Act of December 5, 1936, P.L. (1937) 2897 — Cause of a necessitous and compelling reason — Resentment of reprimand — Dissatisfaction with working conditions — Health problems — Burden of proof.
1. Resentment of a reprimand in the absence of unjust accusations, profane language or abusive conduct, and dissatisfaction with wages or working conditions or personality conflicts, in the absence of an intolerable working atmosphere, are not causes of a necessitous and compelling nature for voluntarily terminating employment such as to preserve an entitlement to benefits under the Unemployment Compensation Law, Act of December 5, 1936, P.L. (1937) 2897. [180]
2. An applicant for unemployment compensation benefits asserting that health problems constituted a compelling and necessitous cause for terminating employment must prove that such problems necessitated the action, that the employer was advised of the problem and that a transfer to a more suitable position was requested. [180]
Argued November 17, 1980, before President Judge CRUMLISH and Judges ROGERS and BLATT, sitting as a panel of three.
Appeal, No. 1463 C.D. 1979, from the Order of the Unemployment Compensation Board in case of In Re: Claim of Betty L. Lynn, No. B-168867.
Application to the Bureau of Employment Security for unemployment compensation benefits. Application denied. Applicant appealed to the Unemployment Compensation Board of Review. Denial affirmed. Applicant appealed to the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania. Held: Affirmed.
Raymond H. Bogaty, Bogaty, McEwen Sparks, for petitioner.
Elsa D. Newman-Silverstine, Assistant Attorney General, with her Richard Wagner, Chief Counsel, and Harvey Bartle, III, Acting Attorney General, for respondent.
The Pennsylvania Unemployment Compensation Board of Review affirmed the referee's denial of unemployment compensation benefits to Betty L. Lynn, finding that she had voluntarily terminated her employment without a necessitous and compelling reason. We affirm.
See Section 402 (b)(1) of the Unemployment Compensation Law, Act of December 5, 1936, Second Ex. Sess., P.L. (1937) 2897, as amended, 43 P. S. § 802(b)(1).
Lynn, a newspaper reporter, quit her job following a reprimand by her employer for influencing the judges of a Halloween parade. She advances the employer's reprimand, dissatisfaction with her pay rate, a personality conflict with a co-worker, and poor health as necessitous and compelling reasons for her voluntary termination.
The law is clear. Resentment of a reprimand, absent unjust accusations, profane language or abusive conduct, Krieger v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, 52 Pa. Commw. 103, 415 A.2d 160 (1980); mere disappointment with wages, Snyder v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, 54 Pa. Commw. 258, 421 A.2d 530 (1980); and personality conflicts, absent an intolerable working atmosphere, Sabella v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, 52 Pa. Commw. 258, 415 A.2d 722 (1980), do not amount to necessitous and compelling causes. Our careful review of the record does not disclose justification for claimant's voluntary termination.
Lastly, Lynn submits that she was compelled to resign for medical reasons. Although Lynn may have carried the burden of proving adequate health reasons for quitting, the record is devoid of any evidence that Lynn notified her employer of her health problem or requested a transfer to a more suitable position as required by our decision in Bigley v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, 38 Pa. Commw. 569, 393 A.2d 1312 (1978).
Affirmed.
ORDER
The decision of the Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, dated May 9, 1979, denying unemployment compensation benefits to Betty L. Lynn is affirmed.
This decision was reached prior to the expiration of the term of office of Judge WILKINSON, JR.