No. 91-257 

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA 

LINDA R. WARBURTON, 

Plaintiff and Respondent, CLERK OF SUQRER~IE COU~~ 

STATE OF MONlkiliA 

-VSVET'S CLUB and BOARD OF LABOR APPEALS OF THE MONTANA DEPARTMENT OF 

LABOR & INDUSTRY, 

Defendants and Appellants. 

APPEAL FROM: District Court of the Twelfth Judicial District, 

In and for the county of Hill, 

The Honorable John Warner, Judge presiding. 

COUNSEL OF RECORD: 

For Appellant: 

Daniel B. McGregor; Department of Labor and 

Industry, Helena, Montana. 

For Respondent: 

Cregg W. Coughlin; Altman & Boucher, Havre, Montana. 

Filed: 

Submitted on briefs: September 19, 1991 
Chief Justice J. A. Turnage delivered the Opinion of the Court. 

Vet's club and Board of Labor Appeals of the Montana Department of Labor & Industry (collectively referred to as the Defendants) appeal a March 12, 1991 memorandum and order of the Twelfth 

Judicial District of Hill County, Montana, which held that Linda R. 

Warburton, a former employee of Vet's Club, was entitled to 

unemployment insurance benefits because she voluntarily left her 

employment due to her personal illness of alcoholism. We affirm on 

other another ground. 

We rephrase the issue on appeal: 

Does the record support by substantial evidence that Warburton 

voluntarily left her employment at Vet's Club for good cause 

attributable to her place of employment, which entitled her to 

unemployment insurance benefits? 

This Court takes judicial notice of State v. Warburton, Hill 

County Cause No. DC-90-004 (Twelfth Judicial Dist. Ct. 1990), a 

related action to this case. 

Vet's Club, a bar located in Havre, Montana, employed Linda R. 

Warburton (Warburton) as a bartender from 1987 to 1990. On January 

12, 1990, Warburton finished her work shift, consumed some 

alcoholic beverages, went home, pointed a rifle at her husband, and 

threatened to shoot him. Warburton's husband telephoned the police 

for assistance. On February 21, 1990, Warburton was charged by 

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information with the offense of felony assault under 5 45-5- 

202 (2) (b) , MCA. 

On February 23, 1990, Warburton filed with Montana Department 

of Labor and Industry, Unemployment Insurance Division (the 

Department) a claimant's voluntary quit statement for the purpose 

of obtaining unemployment insurance benefits. This statement was 

a pre-printed form that Warburton completed and signed. On this 

pre-printed form, Warburton checked the appropriate box that 

indicated that she quit her employment at Vet's Club Il[f]or 

personal reasons only. 'I Under this response, she explained, "I 

had to quit work at the Vets because I can't work or go into bars 

until the law says I can. I have to wait for [a] court date so the 

judge can tell me when I can go back to work in bars because of a 

Felony I did on 1/12/90." 

On March 13, 1990, the Department rejected Warburton's claim 

for unemployment insurance benefits because she voluntarily left 

her employment for personal reasons. Warburton immediately filed 

with the Department a request for non-monetary redetermination. On 

this request for non-monetary redetermination, Warburton stated 

among other reasons that she had to quit her job because she could 

"not work in a bar or around alcohol." 

On March 20, 1990, Warburton executed an acknowledgment of 

waiver of rights by plea of guilty regarding the felony assault 

charge. On March 27, 1990, the District Court sentenced Warburton 

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to a deferred sentence of three years imprisonment for the offense 

of felony assault conditioned in part on the following: 

2. That during the course of the deferment, [Warburton] 

shall not drink any intoxicants nor use dangerous drugs, 

nor frequent any place where intoxicants are the chief 

item of sale. 

On April 16, 1990, an appeals referee of the Department's 

Legal Services Division conducted a telephonic hearing regarding 

Warburton's request for non-monetary redetermination. On April 17, 

1990, the appeals referee sustained the Department's earlier 

decision finding that the circumstances surrounding Warburton's 

loss of employment constituted a "constructive quit" without good 

cause attributable to her employment. 

On April 25, 1990, Warburton appealed the appeals referee's 

decision to the Board of Labor Appeals. On June 7, 1990, the Board 

of Labor Appeals adopted the appeals referee's findings. 

On July 17, 1990, Warburton petitioned the District Court for 

judicial review of the Board of Labor Appeal's decision, and on 

December 20, 1990, filed an amended petition for judicial review. 

On March 12, 1991, the District Court reversed the Board of Labor 

Appeal's decision holding that certain findings of fact adopted by 

the Board of Labor and made by the appeals referee were clearly 

erroneous. The District Court held that Warburton is entitled to 

unemployment insurance benefits because she voluntarily left her 

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employment at Vet's Club due to her personal illness of alcoholism. 

From this decision the Defendants appeal. 

Does the record support by substantial evidence that Warburton 

voluntarily left her employment at Vet's Club for good cause 

attributable to her place of employment, which entitled her to 

unemployment insurance benefits? 

The standard of review applied by this Court for findings of 

fact of the Department's Board of Labor Appeals is whether the 

findings are supported by substantial evidence. Section 39-51- 

2410(5), MCA; see also Zimmer-Jackson Assoc., Inc. v. Dep't of 

Labor and Industry (1988), 231 Mont. 357, 360, 752 P.2d 1095, 1097. 

The standard of review for conclusions of law is whether the court 

correctly interpreted the law. Steer, Inc. v. Dep't of Revenue 

(1990), 245 Mont. 470, 474, 803 P.2d 601, 603. 

Here, the District Court after reviewing the record held and 

we agree that no evidence existed in the record to support the 

finding that Warburton involuntarily left her employment at Vet's 

Club. For a reason other than the reason relied on by the District 

Court, we affirm the finding that Warburton voluntarily left for 

good cause. 

The District Court held that Warburton was entitled to 

unemployment benefits because she voluntarily left her employment 

at Vet's Club due to her personal illness of alcoholism under 5 39- 

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51-2302(2), MCA. We disagree. We hold that Warburton is entitled 

to unemployment insurance benefits because she voluntarily left her 

employment for good cause attributable to her employment. 

Section 39-51-2302(1), MCA, provides: 

(1) An individual shall be disqualified for benefits if 

he [or she] has left work without good cause attributable 

to his [or her] employment. 

Administrative Rule of Montana 24.11.457 provides in pertinent 

part: 

(1) A claimant has left work with good cause attribut- 

(a) compelling reasons arising from the work environment 

caused the claimant to leave: 

Here, Warburton voluntarily left her employment as a bartender 

at Vet's Club because of the court order prohibiting her to 

frequent bars. We hold that this provision of the court order 

serves as a compelling reason for her to leave her employment under 

Administrative Rule of Montana 24.11.457(1)(a). We therefore hold 

that Warburton voluntarily left her employment at Vet's Club for 

good cause attributable to her employment due to the court order 

prohibiting her to frequent bars. 

able to employment if: 

Warburton was faced with a choice of returning to work as a 

bartender serving intoxicants to patrons of Vet's Club, a place 

where intoxicants are the chief items of sale. By returning to 

work at Vet's Club, she would violate the District Court's order 

deferring her sentence and thereby would face being sentenced for 

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felony assault with the possibility of serving not more than ten 

years in the state prison and a fine of $50,000. Warburton's other 

choice was to leave work at Vet's Club. We hold that Warburton had 

a compelling reason arising from her work environment at Vet's Club 

to leave such work. 

The District Court shall enter an order that Linda R. 

Warburton is entitled to unemployment insurance benefits from the 

date she received her deferred sentence, March 27, 1990, because of 

the termination of her employment at Vet's Club. The amount and 

duration of such benefits are subject to applicable fact and law. 

Pursuant to Section I, Paragraph 3(c), Montana Supreme Court 

1988 Internal Operating Rules, this decision shall not be cited as 

precedent and shall be published by its filing as a public document 

with the Clerk of this Court and by a report of its result to the 

West Publishing Company. 

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We concur: 

I 

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November 13, 1991 

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

I hereby certify that the following order was sent by United States mail, prepaid, to the following 

named: 

Daniel B. McGregor 

Dept. of Labor & Industry 

P.O. Box 1728 

Helena, MT 59624 

Cregg W. Coughlin 

Altman & Boucher 

P.O. Box 268 

Havre, MT 59501 

ED SMITH 

CLERK OF THE SUPREME COURT 

STATE OF MONTANA