Reeves v Mike’s Famous Ham Place
Digest no. 10.31
Cite as: Reeves v Mike’s Famous Ham Place, unpublished opinion of the Court of Appeals, issued July 5, 1985 (Docket No. 77532).
Appeal pending: No
Claimant: Sharon Sue Reeves
Employer: Mike’s Famous Ham Place
Docket no.: B83 03316 89615W
Date of decision: July 5, 1985
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COURT OF APPEALS HOLDING: When a claimant over the course of several years leaves and then returns to the employer’s employ on a number of occasions under the exact same conditions, the claimant’s own actions evidence the fact conditions were not such that any reasonable person in the claimant’s position would feel compelled to leave.
FACTS: The claimant had worked as a waitress in the employer’s restaurant. Over the course of a number of years the claimant had left the work place only to return at a later date under the same conditions. The claimant’s final leaving was prompted by a critical assessment of her work by the employer. However, when the claimant applied for benefits she insisted that a pervasive pattern of sexual harassment had existed in the work place and provided her with a good cause for her voluntary leaving.
It should be noted that on each occasion that the claimant returned to the work place she left other gainful employment to do so.
DECISION: The claimant was disqualified for benefits under the voluntary leaving provision of the MES Act, Section 29(1)(a).
RATIONALE: By freely choosing to return to the work place with a full understanding of the conditions present the claimant by her own behavior evidenced that the situation was not harassing and therefore not all reasonable persons in her position would have felt compelled to leave.
Digest Author: Board of Review (view original digest here)
Digest Updated: 11/90