Forrest Park Sanitarium v. Miller

• Decision Date: 16 November 1943
• Docket Number: No. 46370.,46370.
• Citation: 11 N.W.2d 582,233 Iowa 1341
• Parties: FORREST PARK SANITARIUM v. MILLER et al.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

233 Iowa 1341

11 N.W.2d 582

FORREST PARK SANITARIUM

v.MILLER et al.

No. 46370.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

Nov. 16, 1943.

Appeal from District Court, Scott County; William W. Scott, Judge.

The district court affirmed a decision of Iowa Employment Security Commission, holding an employee eligible for unemployment compensation benefits.Employer appeals.Opinion states the facts.

Affirmed.

Hart & Eckerman, of Davenport, for appellant.

J. Charles Crawley and Homer M. Lyon, both of Des Moines, for appellee.

OLIVER, Justice.

In September, 1939, appellant employed Esther K. Miller(referred to herein as sole appellee) as a practical nurse in its sanitarium for patients with mental and nerve ailments.She worked on the day shift on the main floor until 1941, when her immediate superior ordered her to the night shift in another building.She protested to the manager.He declined to change the order.Appellee separated from her employment and seeks unemployment compensation benefits.

Section 1551.11,Code of Iowa 1939, provides that one who has left his work voluntarily without good cause attributable to his employer, if so found by the commission, shall be disqualified for benefits.Said section also provides disqualification for failure, without good cause, to accept suitable work, and that in determining whether work is suitable to any individual, the degree of risk involved to his health and safety, his physical fitness, training, experience, etc., shall be considered.

Appellant proposed to change appellee to the night shift in the other building because another nurse had asked to be relieved therefrom “for awhile” because “she was nervous and couldn't sleep in the daytime”, and the management decided to shift “those night positions around”.Appellee weighed about 108 pounds and was of a nervous temperament.Although the evidence was in conflict, there was substantial evidence that prior to September, 1939, she had worked on said night shift; that...