Misconduct: Court Says Employee Down With Flu Need Not Secure Replacement
Legal Eagle Eye Newsletter for the Nursing Profession
June 1999
Quick Summary: Being ill with the flu is a valid reason for an employee to disregard the employer’s policy that anyone calling in sick saying they will not be coming to work must go to the phone list and find a replacement.
The employee had good cause to be off work. She was ill with the flu.
Under the circumstances, not securing a replacement was not employee misconduct and did not justify termination. COMMONWEALTH COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA, 1999.
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled recently that a nurse’s aide was entitled to unemployment benefits after being terminated from her job at a retirement center. That is, the employer did not have valid grounds to fire the aide for misconduct, according to the court.
The aide did call in sick, but did not find a replacement to work for her while she was off with the flu.
The court pointed out the aide did have a note from her doctor verifying that she had the flu and should be off work for three days.
The employer had previously notified all employees they had to find a replacement from the phone list any time they were going to be off work. The court did not give blanket disapproval to this policy. The court did rule that an employee who is too ill to comply does have a valid excuse. Thompson v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, 723 A. 2d 743 (Pa. Cmwlth., 1999).