Woodmen of the World Life Ins. Soc. v. Olsen

• Decision Date: 17 July 1942
• Docket Number: 31356.
• Citation: 4 N.W.2d 923,141 Neb. 776
• Parties: WOODMEN OF THE WORLD LIFE INS. SOC. v. OLSEN, Commissioner of Labor.
• Court: Nebraska Supreme Court

4 N.W.2d 923

141 Neb. 776

WOODMEN OF THE WORLD LIFE INS. SOC. v. OLSEN, Commissioner of Labor.

No. 31356.

Supreme Court of Nebraska

July 17, 1942

Syllabus by the Court.

1.A compensable claim for benefits under the Nebraska unemployment compensation law must have some relation to, or connection with, the employment which employee has lost.

2.A wife who voluntarily leaves her employment for "the sole and only reason of being with her husband" in another city, to which he has been transferred by his employer, does so "without good cause" and thus disqualifies herself as a claimant for unemployment benefits, within the meaning of that term as used in the Nebraska unemployment compensation law.

John E. Sidner and Ray W. McNamara, both of Lincoln, for appellant.

John F. Futcher, Rainey T. Wells, J. M. Sturdevant, George Yeager and Albert F. Wahl, all of Omaha, for appellee.

Heard before SIMMONS, C. J., and ROSE, EBERLY, PAINE, CARTER, and MESSMORE, JJ.

ROSE Justice.

This is a proceeding under the unemployment compensation law.Comp.St.Supp.1939, §§ 48-701 to 48-724.Grace Radloff was employee and claimant for unemployment benefits.Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society was employer and its plea was disqualification of employee as claimant for benefits.The deputy commissioner and the appeal tribunal allowed the claim.The employer appealed from the decision of the appeal tribunal to the district court for Douglas county where the claim was disallowed.O. M. Olsen, commissioner of the Nebraska state department of labor, appealed to the supreme court.A motion to dismiss the appeal, on the ground that the commissioner was not a party having an appealable interest in the controversy, was overruled.Woodmen of the World Life Ins. Society v. Olsen, Neb., 2 N.W.2d 353.

The cause was heard below on the following stipulation of facts:

"The claimant was employed by the employer from November 1, 1931 until May 27, 1939; that during the year 1933claimant was married to her present husband but continued to work for the employer; that on or prior to May 27, 1939, claimant's husband was transferred by his employer to Davenport, Iowa to which city he was to continue his employment; that claimant voluntarily left her work with the employer for the sole and only reason of being with her husband; that she on or about May 27, 1939, went to Davenport, Iowa, for that purpose; that her leaving her work was not in any way induced or caused by any act or conduct of the employer; that on June 3, 1940, she registered for work at a public employment office at Davenport and made her claim for benefits against the Nebraska Unemployment Compensation Fund; that any benefits which might be paid under her claim would be charged to the reserve account of the employer."

On these facts the employer contends that employee is disqualified as a claimant for unemployment benefits by the following provisions of the legislative act:

"An individual shall be disqualified for benefits: (a) For the week in which he has left work voluntarily without good cause, if so found by the commissioner, and for not more than the five weeks which immediately follow such week, as determined by the commissioner according to the circumstances in each case: Provided, that such individual shall be disqualified...