Opinion
Argued April 9, 1976
May 19, 1976.
Unemployment compensation — Voluntary termination — Unemployment Compensation Law, Act 1936, December 5, P.L. (1937) 2897 — Burden of proof — Cause of a necessitous and compelling nature — Dissatisfaction with working conditions.
1. An employe who voluntarily terminates his employment is ineligible for benefits under the Unemployment Compensation Law, Act 1936, December 5, P.L. (1937), 2897, unless he proves that he left his job for a cause of a necessitous and compelling nature. [542-3]
2. Dissatisfaction with working conditions and personality differences with a supervisor are not necessitous and compelling causes for voluntarily terminating employment so as to render such employe eligible for unemployment compensation benefits. [543]
Judge KRAMER did not participate in this decision.
Argued April 9, 1976, before Judges CRUMLISH, JR., MENCER and ROGERS, sitting as a panel of three.
Appeal, No. 1528 C.D. 1975, from the Order of the Unemployment Compensation Board of Review in case of In Re: Claim of Guenther Nolte, No. B-127728.
Application to Bureau of Employment Security for unemployment compensation benefits. Application denied. Applicant appealed to the Unemployment Compensation Board of Review. Denial affirmed. Applicant appealed to the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania. Held: Affirmed.
Guenther Nolte, appellant, for himself.
Charles G. Hasson, Assistant Attorney General, with him Sydney Reuben, Assistant Attorney General, and Robert P. Kane, Attorney General, for appellee.
Guerther Nolte has appealed from an order of the Unemployment Compensation Board of Review affirming a referee's denial of his application for unemployment compensation benefits pursuant to Section 402(b)(1) of the Unemployment Compensation Law which provides that "[A]n employee shall be ineligible for compensation for any week . . . [i]n which his unemployment is due to voluntarily leaving work without cause of a necessitous and compelling nature. . . ."
Act of December 5, 1936, Second Ex. Sess., P.L. (1937) 2897, as amended, 43 P. S. § 802(b)(1).
The claimant was employed as a stock manager by K-Mart, a merchandiser, from September 30, 1974 until April 9, 1975. He quit his job because he believed that he was overworked, not provided sufficient help and denied sufficient overtime work. These unfavorable conditions seem to have coincided with the arrival of claimant's new supervisor. The employer's representative testified that several helpers provided the claimant proved to be unreliable but asserted that the store attempted to furnish interim help on these occasions. The same witness also testified that the claimant was denied overtime only to the extent that his weekly time was reduced from 55 or 56 hours to 48 hours, which still gave eight hours of overtime. The referee found that the claimant had voluntarily left work due to "personality" differences with his supervisor, overall dissatisfaction with working conditions, and unhappiness with the allocation of overtime by his supervisor. These findings, which are supported in the record, justified the denial of benefits.
The claimant having voluntarily quit his employment, was subject to disqualification under Section 402(b)(1), 43 P. S. § 802 (b)(1), unless he proved that his resignation was with cause of a necessitous and compelling nature. Dalesandro v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, 17 Pa. Commw. 482, 333 A.2d 479 (1975). Mere dissatisfaction with working conditions is not necessitous and compelling cause for voluntarily leaving employment. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review v. Tune, 23 Pa. Commw. 201, 350 A.2d 876 (1976); Knox v. Commonwealth, 12 Pa. Commw. 588, 317 A.2d 60 (1974).
ORDER
AND NOW, this 19th day of May, 1976, the order of the Unemployment Compensation Board of Review denying the claim of Guenther Nolte is hereby affirmed and this appeal dismissed.