IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
FIRST DISTRICT, STATE OF FLORIDA
PROJECT HEALTH, INC., NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO
FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND
Appellant, DEPOSITION THEREOF IF FILED
v. CASE NO. 1D01-2730, 1D01-4124, 1D01-
4126, and 1D01-4129
FLORIDA UNEMPLOYMENT
APPEALS COMMISSION, et al,
Appellees.
/
Opinion filed August 28, 2002.
An appeal from an order of the Unemployment Appeals Commission.
William P. Dillon, Esquire, McMorrow & Dillon, P.A., Naples, for Appellant.
John D. Maher, Attorney for Commission, Tallahassee, for Appellees.
PER CURIAM.
This is an appeal by Appellant Project Health, Inc., the employer, from four
separate orders of Appellee Florida Unemployment Appeals Commission entered in
favor of employees Kenneth R. Anderson, M.D., Gail E. Bennett, P.A.-C., Carol A.
Colvin, M.D., and Sandra W. Lamphier, M.D. (the "Providers"). We reverse the
Commission's rulings because they are not supported by competent, substantial
evidence.
The Providers sent a letter dated October 26, 2000 to Project Health indicating
they were resigning effective December 31, 2000 unless the CEO of Project Health was
terminated. Project Health accepted the resignation letter and asked for written
clarification if their resignation was not intended. The resignation letter was not
withdrawn and no written clarification was submitted. The Providers' last date of
employment was December 31, 2000.
Although the Providers had been negotiating new employment contracts with
Project Health when the Providers sent their resignation letter, the record lacks any
evidence showing that the Providers' demand for the CEO's termination was a
"counteroffer" in the new contract negotiations as ruled by the Commission.
Therefore, according to the express language of their resignation letter, the end of
Providers' employment arose because of Project Health's unwillingness to terminate
its CEO rather than Project Health's demand for new contractual terms as ruled by the
Commission.1
2
Accordingly, the Providers voluntarily left their employment without good cause
attributable to Project Health and are disqualified for benefits. See § 443.101(1)(a),
Fla. Stat. (2000). Therefore, we reverse the Commission's orders and remand with
instructions to substitute the Appeals Referees' decisions in Cases 01-4126 and 01-
4124, and to enter orders in favor of Appellant in Cases 01-2730 and 01-4129.
BARFIELD, MINER and POLSTON, JJ., concur.
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1For example, the Appeals Referee in 01-2730, affirmed by the Commission,
erroneously stated that the Providers "gave notice on October 26, 2000, that they
would be resigning effective December 31, 2000, if the employer continued to demand
they enter into the new employment agreement." (Emphasis added). The letter only
demands the termination of the CEO and makes no mention of the employer's
continued demands for a new employment agreement.
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