Lafoe v. MISSISSIPPI EMPLOYMENT SEC. COM'N

LaFoe v. Mississippi Employment Security Commission

What Happened
Lynn LaFoe worked for The Delta Democrat Times newspaper. When her editor assigned her work that she didn't want to do, LaFoe refused the assignment. Her editor gave her a choice: complete the work or resign. LaFoe chose to resign instead of doing the assignment.

Court's Decision
The court sided with the state's unemployment agency and denied LaFoe's request for unemployment benefits. The court ruled that LaFoe had voluntarily quit her job without a legally acceptable reason. Simply not wanting to do a work assignment that your employer assigns is not considered "good cause" for quitting.

Why This Matters for Workers
This case shows that if you quit your job because you don't want to perform assigned duties, you likely won't qualify for unemployment benefits. Courts and unemployment agencies distinguish between being fired and voluntarily quitting. When you voluntarily resign, you must have a serious, legitimate reason—like unsafe working conditions or illegal activity—to potentially qualify for benefits. Not wanting to do a particular task generally doesn't meet that standard.