KRAFT, INCORPORATED, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, UNEMPLOYMENT APPEALS COMMISSION, APPELLEE
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Kraft appeals a determination that a former employee, Leslie Cox, is entitled to unemployment compensation benefits after he refused to continue working in a freezer with blowers running continuously. The court reverses, holding that the employee's personal discomfort with cold working conditions does not constitute a justifiable reason to refuse work and therefore constitutes misconduct disqualifying him from benefits.
The court held that the employee's refusal to work in the freezer constituted misconduct. A change in work assignment is permissible as long as the duties are reasonable and within the scope of the position, and working conditions not to an employee's liking are not sufficient reasons for quitting unless they constitute unfair or unreasonable demands such that a reasonably prudent person would leave. Here, with no medical reason shown, no evidence of health harm, and evidence that others worked in the freezer with blowers on, the record does not support that a reasonably prudent person would have refused the work.
[1] An employee's refusal to perform work due to dislike of working conditions does not constitute a justifiable reason to reject material alterations in working conditions f…
[2] A change in an employee's work assignment is permissible if the duties are reasonable and within the scope of the employee's original position.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Reasonableness is the standard used to determine whether an employee's refusal to do extra or different work constitutes misconduct which would disqualify the employee for benefits”
Establishes the legal standard for evaluating whether a work refusal qualifies as disqualifying misconduct
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceLeslie Cox worked at Kraft's warehouse since 1974, primarily on the night shift in the freezer moving and removing cartons. In September 1984, supervi…
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LEHAN, Judge.
Kraft, Inc. appeals from a determination that a former employee is entitled to unemployment compensation benefits. We reverse.
The employee, Leslie Cox, had worked at Kraft’s warehouse since 1974. During his last three years there, he worked the night shift in the freezer, moving and removing cartons to make up orders for delivery to customers. During most of those three years, the large blowers in the freezer were turned off at night. However, in September, 1984, supervisory personnel at the warehouse were instructed to leave the blowers on at all times. Cox complained about the chill factor that this created. The employer agreed to hire someone else to do the work in the freezer, but required Cox to train the new person and also to continue to work in the freezer when needed.
On October 25th, Cox was needed to work the full shift in the freezer. The next day he repeated his complaints about the chill factor. He was told that if he got a doctor’s statement that he was unable to work in the freezer, the company would honor that request. Cox would not get a doctor’s statement. Cox left his employment on that day. Although some of the evidence indicates that Cox quit, the hearing officer found that Cox was discharged from his employment.
When Cox applied for unemployment compensation benefits, the claims examiner denied the application on the grounds that Cox was discharged for misconduct connected with his work. A hearing was conducted, and the appeals referee affirmed the denial of benefits.
Upon further appeal, however, the Unemployment Appeals Commission reversed that decision. The Commission agreed with the findings of fact made by the appeals referee but concluded that Cox’s “intolerance for the cold provided him with a justifiable reason to reject the material alterations in his working conditions.”
We disagree and find no basis in the record for that conclusion under applicable law. Reasonableness is the standard used to determine whether an employee’s refusal to do extra or different work constitutes misconduct which would disqualify the employee for benefits as defined in section 443.036(24)(a), Florida Statutes (1983). A change in an employee’s work assignment is permissible as long as the duties are “reasonable” and “within the ambit of the position for which the employee is hired_” Vazquez v. GFC Builders Corp., 431 So. 2d 739, 741 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983). Working conditions not to an employee’s liking are not sufficient reasons for quitting unless “the conditions constitute unfair or unreasonable demands upon a claimant such that a reasonably prudent person would leave.” Sollecito v. Hollywood Lincoln Mercury, Inc., 450 So. 2d 928, 930 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984).
In this case there was no showing of a medical reason preventing Cox from working in the freezer or that the conditions were harmful to his health. There was evidence that other people worked in the freezer with the blowers on, both at this warehouse and at other Kraft warehouses. While the cold temperature might not have been to Cox’s liking, the record does not support a conclusion that a reasonably prudent person would have refused to work in the freezer. The record supports the appeals referee’s decision that Cox’s refusal to work in the freezer was misconduct.
Reversed.
RYDER, C.J., and SCHOONOVER, J., concur.
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Maynard v. Fla. Unemployment Appeals Comm'n & Neighborhood Variety Stores, Inc., 609 So. 2d 143 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992)…he employee was hired. Moreover, where such a change of duties is made and the employee refuses to perform, the employee is guilty of misconduct, justifying denial of employment compensation benefits. E.g. Kraft, Inc. v. Unemployment Appeals Comm’n, 478 So. 2d 1183, 1184 (Fla. 2d [*146] DCA1985); Vazquez v. GFC Builders Corp., 431 So. 2d 739 (Fla. 4th DCA1983). However, if there is a “positive understanding at the outset ... that an employee will not be required to perform a certain task, ... the employer cann…
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Benitez v. Girlfriday, Inc., 609 So. 2d 665 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992)…’n, 544 So. 2d 1110 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989); Stahl v. Unemployment Appeals Comm’n, 502 So. 2d 78 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987); National Ins. Servs., Inc. v. Unemployment Appeals Comm’n, 495 So. 2d 244 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986); Craft, Inc. v. Unemployment Appeals Comm’n, 478 So. 2d 1183 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985); Citrus Central v. Detwiler, 368 So. 2d 81 (Fla. 4th DCA 1979). The legislature has delegated to the Unemployment Appeals Commission the responsibility for resolution of disputed unemployment compensation claims. §§ 20.-171(4), 4…
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Nat'l Ins. Servs., Inc. v. Fla. Unemployment Appeals Comm'n & Janice A. Davis, 495 So. 2d 244 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986)…nstitute unfair or unreasonable demands upon a claimant such that a reasonably prudent person would leave.” Sollecito v. Hollywood Lincoln Mercury, Inc., 450 So. 2d 928, 930 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984). Kraft, Inc. v. State, Unemployment Appeals Commission, 478 So. 2d 1183, 1184 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985). The appeals referee specifically found that “it has not been shown under the circumstances presented that the employer’s policies were unreasonable....” In addition, the record reflects that all employees (including manage…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Vazquez v. GFC Builders Corp. & Unemployment Appeals Comm'n, 431 So. 2d 739 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983)
- Sollecito v. Hollywood Lincoln Mercury, Inc., 450 So. 2d 928 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984)