Guillot v. Arbor Group, LLC

781 So. 2d 864, 2001 WL 202042
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 2, 2001
Docket34,469-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 781 So. 2d 864 (Guillot v. Arbor Group, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Guillot v. Arbor Group, LLC, 781 So. 2d 864, 2001 WL 202042 (La. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

781 So.2d 864 (2001)

Kristy GUILLOT, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
The ARBOR GROUP, LLC and the State of Louisiana, Department of Labor, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 34,469-CA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

March 2, 2001.

*866 Theus, Grisham, Davis & Leigh by Phillip D. Myers, Monroe, LA, Counsel for Appellant.

J. Jerome Burden, Baton Rouge, LA, J. Clay Carroll, Jonesboro, LA, Counsel for Appellees.

Before WILLIAMS, CARAWAY & DREW, JJ.

DREW, J.

Kristy Guillot, an unemployment compensation claimant, appealed a judgment of the district court which affirmed administrative rulings rejecting her claim for benefits. Asserting that the previous rulings were based on legally insufficient evidence, the claimant urged that the trial court erred in affirming the denial of her request for unemployment benefits. Guillot maintained she was entitled to unemployment benefits because she left her employment with the Arbor for good cause attributable to a substantial change in her employment made by her employer. For the following reasons, the judgment is affirmed.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

From September 1997 until she quit effective February 5, 1999, Guillot worked at the Arbor, an assisted living facility for the elderly. The claimant was program director of the Terrace, the unit for residents with Alzheimer's disease at the Arbor. After claimant left her employment, she applied for unemployment benefits.

Following an agency determination that claimant left her employment for personal reasons, the claimant appealed. The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) held a hearing and heard testimony. Thereafter, the ALJ made the following factual findings:

The claimant worked for the named employer from approximately September, 1997, until February 5, 1999. She was the program director of the Terrace, which is the Alzheimer's unit of the facility.
In December 1997, the RN on staff was killed in an automobile accident. She was not replaced. The claimant felt that the nurse should have been replaced so there would be someone on staff in charge of doing medication monitoring. *867 After the death of the nurse, the care attendants were passing out medication. No employee of the facility however, even if they are a nurse, is allowed to dispense medicine. The home health employees can do this, but if a nurse is hired at the facility, home health persons cannot come to the facility. For this reason, another nurse was not hired.
In November 1998, during a budget meeting, it was decided to combine housekeeping duties. A housekeeper was discharged and was not replaced, but her duties were transferred to other employees, especially some on the night shift. Additionally, some of the housekeeping responsibilities were delegated to the care attendants at the facility. The claimant disagreed with this action, and felt that the care attendants were under too much stress having to do housekeeping duties as well as their own duties. She discussed this with her supervisor, but the housekeeper was not replaced.
The claimant had been approached by family members who wanted "Do Not Resuscitate Forms" to be available at the facility. The employer felt, however, that this would be a liability and that the family should contact the doctor or an attorney for these forms. The claimant mentioned this to the Director of Operations, but no forms were provided.
While the claimant was employed, the facility bought a van to transport individuals. The van was not accessible to handicapped persons and it was difficult for them to get on and off the van. The claimant felt that this was not in the residents' best interest; however, Louisiana Law does not require or suggest a handicapped access van be provided.
The claimant was told when she was hired, by a previous administrator, that insurance would be provided after one year. After this year, there was a different administrator and still no insurance had been provided. As of the date of the hearing, the employer does not provide insurance to any employees.
The incident which actually caused the claimant to decide to quit, even though she was dissatisfied for several reasons, was in early January, 1999, when she learned that the Director of Operations had called the weekend activity person with questions about the unit. The claimant was uncomfortable with this and felt that she was not respected. Shortly thereafter, she turned in her resignation.

Noting that the claimant may have had excellent personal reasons for leaving, the ALJ found claimant had not proved her leaving was for good cause attributable to a substantial change in her employment made by her employer. Many of the areas of dissatisfaction had been ongoing since her employment. Therefore, her leaving was held to be under disqualifying conditions. The ALJ modified the date of disqualification from January 28, 1999 to February 5, 1999. Claimant appealed.

The Board of Review affirmed the decision of the ALJ which disqualified claimant from unemployment benefits. Claimant sought judicial review from the district court. In its ruling, the district court noted that La. R.S. 23:1634 mandated that the findings of the Board of Review as to facts are conclusive if supported by sufficient evidence and further noted that no party requested the district court take additional evidence. The district court considered the facts of the case as determined by the ALJ and adopted by the Board of Review. The district court found that the Board of Review applied the correct law and declined to reverse the administrative ruling. This appeal followed.

*868 DISCUSSION

The Louisiana employment security law is remedial in nature. The courts should interpret it to extend its benefits as far as possible within the bounds imposed by express legislative restrictions. Coleman v. Blache, 566 So.2d 181 (La.App. 2d Cir.1990). The standard of judicial review of decisions made by the administrative law tribunal concerning unemployment benefits is governed by La. R.S. 23:1634, which provides in pertinent part:

... the findings of the board of review as to the facts, if supported by sufficient evidence and in the absence of fraud, shall be conclusive, and the jurisdiction of the [reviewing] court shall be confined to questions of law.

Therefore, on judicial review in unemployment compensation cases, the reviewing court must determine whether the findings of fact by the Board are supported by sufficient evidence and, if so, whether the decision of the Board is correct as a matter of law. Unemployment benefits are awarded in accordance with La. R.S. 23:1600; disqualification criteria for benefits are provided in La. R.S. 23:1601. General Motors Corp. v. Darby, 31516 (La. App.2d Cir.1/22/99), 728 So.2d 516, writ denied, 99-0514 (La.4/9/99), 740 So.2d 632. An individual shall be disqualified for benefits if the administrator finds that he has left his employment from a base period or subsequent employer without good cause attributable to a substantial change made to the employment by the employer. La. R.S. 23:1601(1)(a).

When claimant voluntarily leaves her employment, she must show that she left with good cause connected with her employment in order to receive benefits. Good cause is more than mere dissatisfaction with the working conditions.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
781 So. 2d 864, 2001 WL 202042, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/guillot-v-arbor-group-llc-lactapp-2001.