Court Opinion

ID: 9537584
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 07:20:09.037296+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:56:48.956751
License: Public Domain

HOWE, Justice
(concurring and dissenting):
I concur in the holding of the Court that the plaintiff does not qualify for benefits under the “good cause” exception to § 35-4-5(a), but I dissent from the holding that he does not qualify under the “equity and good conscience” exception of that subsection. The latter exception provides that the claimant shall not be ineligible for benefits if he “leaves work under circumstances of such a nature that it would be contrary to equity and good conscience to impose a disqualification.” That subsection directs the employer to consider the “reasonableness of the claimant’s actions and the extent to which the actions evidence a genuine continuing attachment to the labor market.” I cannot envision a situation where a claimant would come closer to meeting those requirements than under the fact situation of the present case.
The claimant here was obviously caught and torn between two loyalties. He was a member of PATCO which called a nationwide strike. With that membership comes the obligation of allegiance and loyalty to the elected leaders. On the other hand, the President of the United States had ordered the striking controllers to return to work. No loyal and conscientious citizen would feel good about ignoring such an order. The claimant was obviously distressed and torn about what course of action he should follow. He called in twice the morning of August 6 and expressed an interest in returning to work. He expressed qualms about crossing the picket line of his coworkers.
While I am mindful that the Commission has broad latitude under the “equity and good conscience” exception, I do not think that the claimant’s actions can be viewed otherwise than being reasonable under all circumstances. In my view, the “equity and good conscience” exception is much broader than the exception for leaving work voluntarily for “good cause.” I believe that the “equity and good conscience” provision was meant to cover situations just as we have here. No one questions the genuine attachment of this claimant to the labor market. A claimant caught up in the strife that the claimant here was subjected to should not be denied the beneficence of the statute.
DURHAM, J., does not participate herein. DOUGLAS L. CORNABY, District Judge, sat.