COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA
Present: Judges Benton, Willis and Overton
Argued at Alexandria, Virginia
BESSIE L. WEBSTER
MEMORANDUM OPINION * BY
v. Record No. 1323-95-4 JUDGE NELSON T. OVERTON
APRIL 2, 1996
VIRGINIA EMPLOYMENT COMMISSION AND
STAFFORD COUNTY SCHOOLS
FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF STAFFORD COUNTY
James W. Haley, Jr., Judge
Robin J. Mayer (Rappahannock Legal Services,
Inc., on brief), for appellant.
Lisa J. Rowley, Assistant Attorney General
(James S. Gilmore, III, Attorney General;
D. Patrick Lacy, Jr.; Curtis G. Manchester;
Hazel & Thomas, on brief), for appellees.
The Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) denied Bessie L.
Webster's request for unemployment benefits. Webster appeals the
judgment of the circuit court affirming the commission's finding
that Webster voluntarily left her employment without good cause.
Finding no error in the judgment from which she appeals, we
affirm.
"When determining whether good cause existed for a claimant
to voluntarily leave employment, the [VEC] and the reviewing
courts must first apply an objective standard to the
reasonableness of the employment dispute and then to the
reasonableness of the employee's efforts to resolve that dispute
*
Pursuant to Code § 17-116.010 this opinion is not
designated for publication.
before leaving the employment." Umbarger v. Virginia Employment
Comm'n, 12 Va. App. 431, 435, 404 S.E.2d 380, 383 (1991).
However, the courts are governed by the statutory directive that
"the findings of the [VEC] as to the facts, if supported by
evidence and in the absence of fraud, shall be conclusive, and
the jurisdiction of the court shall be confined to questions of
law." Code § 60.2-625(A); see Shifflett v. Virginia Employment
Comm'n, 14 Va. App. 96, 97, 414 S.E.2d 865, 865 (1992). "The
VEC's findings may be rejected only if, in considering the record
as a whole, a reasonable mind would necessarily come to a
different conclusion." Craft v. Virginia Employment Comm'n, 8
Va. App. 607, 609, 383 S.E.2d 271, 273 (1989).
The record supports the VEC's determination that Webster did
not qualify for unemployment benefits because she did not have
good cause to leave her employment. Code § 60.2-618(1). Webster
worked as a custodian at a Stafford County School. During the
course of her employment, she had experienced various medical
problems, including pain in her heel, knee, and elbow. In March
1992 Webster saw her doctor because of continuing pain. Her
doctor diagnosed a bone spur on her heel and tendinitis in her
elbow, but he indicated that she could return to work the next
day, and he did not advise her to quit. Nevertheless, Webster
went to her principal and informed him that she could not
continue to work because of medical reasons.
The circuit court affirmed the VEC's determination that
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Webster left her job voluntarily without good cause because she
demonstrated no medical reason sufficient to compel her to
resign. We cannot say that the record as a whole necessarily
leads us to a different conclusion than that reached by the VEC.
Affirmed.
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