Michael Boise v. Washington State Dept. Of Employment Security

**What Happened** Michael Boise worked for Cleary Building Corporation and quit his job, then applied for unemployment benefits from the Washington State Department of Employment Security. Boise claimed he should receive benefits under a special exception that allows workers to quit for religious or moral reasons and still collect unemployment. The state denied his claim, so Boise appealed the decision through the courts. **What the Court Decided** The Washington Court of Appeals sided with the state and upheld the denial of unemployment benefits. The court found that Boise's regular work duties had not changed from when he was hired. Since his job responsibilities remained the same, the court ruled he did not qualify for the religious or moral belief exception that would have allowed him to receive unemployment benefits after voluntarily quitting. **Why This Matters for Workers** This ruling shows that workers cannot simply quit their jobs citing religious or moral objections and expect to receive unemployment benefits if their job duties haven't actually changed. To qualify for this exception, workers must show their employer changed their responsibilities in a way that conflicts with their deeply held beliefs. Workers considering quitting for religious reasons should carefully document how their job duties have changed before leaving their position.