DIANE NEGRON DEAN, APPELLANT,
v.
FLORIDA UNEMPLOYMENT APPEALS COMMISSION AND SCANNAVINO, INC., APPELLEES
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The court reversed the Unemployment Appeals Commission's denial of unemployment benefits to Diane Dean, who took a temporary leave of absence from her job to care for her son with chicken pox. The court held that Dean had good cause for her departure because a family emergency constituted circumstances that would impel a reasonable person to leave employment.
Dean had good cause for her departure because her family emergency circumstances would have compelled a reasonable, able-minded, qualified worker to act as she did. The determination of good cause should focus on whether the circumstances behind the employee's departure would have impelled an average, able-minded worker to give up employment, and Dean's circumstances met this standard.
[1] An employee's need to care for a sick child constitutes "good cause" attributable to the employing unit for a temporary absence from employment, thereby entitling the emp…
[2] The determination of whether an employee voluntarily left employment without good cause should be based on whether the circumstances would have impelled the average, able…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“the determination of whether an employee voluntarily leaves a job without good cause attributable to an employer should focus on whether the circumstances behind the employee's departure would have impelled the average, able-minded, qualified worker to give up his employment”
Establishes the legal standard for evaluating whether an employee had good cause to leave employment.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceDiane Dean requested temporary leave from her employment at Scannavino, Inc. when her son contracted chicken pox and a pediatrician instructed her to …
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FRANK, Acting Chief Judge.
We reverse the Unemployment Appeals Commission’s affirmance of the referee’s decision to disqualify Diane Dean from receiving unemployment compensation benefits. Dean requested a temporary leave of absence from employment with Scannavino when she learned that her son had chicken pox. A pediatrician instructed Dean to keep the child out of school for a period. Dean notified her employer of her son’s condition and promised to return to work as soon as alternative day care arrangements could be made. One week later, when Dean still had not reported for work, the employer called to inform Dean that “unless she could be in ... the following day, ... she didn’t have to bother coming back [to work].” Dean was not able, despite diligent efforts, to arrange supervision for her son. She therefore did not return to work the following day as ordered. When she reported to her job the succeeding day, however, she was discharged.
Florida’s Unemployment Compensation Law mandates that when an employ ee voluntarily leaves employment “without good cause attributable to his employing unit,” he is not eligible to receive financial assistance through the state unemployment reserves. § 443.101(1)(a), Fla.Stat. (1989). “Good cause,” as used in section 443.-101(1)(a), comprises not only conduct attributable to an employer, but also an employee’s “illness or disability.” Although Dean herself was not ill or disabled, she departed temporarily under circumstances known by her employer to constitute a “family emergency.” See Langley v. Unemployment Appeals Commission, 444 So. 2d 518 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984); see also, Ladson v. Florida Unemployment Appeals Commission, 543 So. 2d 328 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989) (Schwartz, C.J., specially concurring).
As Dean has aptly noted, the Unemployment Compensation Law should be liberally construed in order to achieve its declared purpose of providing relief to persons not employed through no fault of their own. §§ 443.021, 443.031, Fla.Stat. (1989); Gulf County School Bd. v. Washington, 567 So. 2d 420 (Fla.1990).
The employer maintains that Dean voluntarily abandoned her employment when she failed to return on the prescribed date. We do not agree. The determination of whether an employee voluntarily leaves a job without good cause attributable to an employer should focus on whether the circumstances behind the employee’s departure would have impelled the average, able-minded, qualified worker to give up his employment. Marcelo v. Dept. of Labor and Employment Security, 453 So. 2d 927, 929 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984).
We conclude that Dean’s circumstances would have impelled a reasonable person to act as she did. Dean should have received the unemployment benefits claimed.
Accordingly, we reverse the decision of the Commission and remand this matter to it for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
THREADGILL and PATTERSON, JJ., concur.
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Szyja Szniatkiewicz v. Unemployment Appeals Comm'n & Herco Holding Corp., 864 So. 2d 498 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004)…t consti [*503] tute misconduct); Gadsden v. Florida Unemployment Appeals Comm’n, 616 So. 2d 1196 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993)(claimant left her position with good cause to care for her father who had brain tumor); Dean v. Florida Unemployment Appeals Comm’n, 598 So. 2d 100 (Fla. 2d DCA), review denied, 605 So. 2d 1268 (Fla.1992)(claimant who was unable to arrange supervision for her child with chicken pox left for good cause); Howlett v. South Broward Hosp. Tax Dist., 451 So. 2d 976 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984)(Florida courts…
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Lewis v. Lakeland Health Care Ctr., Inc., 685 So. 2d 876 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996)…porting a finding that she quit. Moreover, the referee failed to consider the family emergency exception, which permits a special type of “good cause” not factually attributable to the employing unit. See Dean v. Florida Unemployment Appeals Comm’n, 598 So. 2d 100 (Fla. 2d DCA), revieiv denied, 605 So. 2d 1268 (Fla. 1992). Accordingly, we reverse the Commission’s order and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. I. THE FACTS Ms. Lewis was employed by Lakeland Health as a licensed practi…1 / 2
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Gilbert v. Dep't OF Corr. & Fla. Unemployment Appeals Comm'n, 696 So. 2d 416 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997)…by “family emergencies” are not misconduct that justifies a denial of benefits to an involuntarily terminated employee. Gadsden v. Florida Unemployment Appeals Comm’n, 616 So. 2d 1196 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993); Dean v. Florida Unemployment Appeals Comm’n, 598 So. 2d 100 (Fla. 2d DCA), review denied, 605 So. 2d 1268 (Fla.1992). In determining whether misconduct has occurred which would disqualify a claimant from receiving unemployment compensation benefits, the statute should be liberally construed in favor of the…
Previewing 3 of 17 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Gulf Cnty. Sch. Bd. v. Washington, 567 So. 2d 420 (Fla. 1990)
- Marcelo v. Dep't OF Labor & Emp. Sec., 453 So. 2d 927 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984)
- Carlin W. Langley v. Unemployment Appeals Comm'n, 444 So. 2d 518 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)
- Portofino Rest., Inc. v. Utah State Ret. Fund, 543 So. 2d 328 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989)