Amador v. Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board
Supreme Court of California
677 P.2d 224 (Cal. 1984)
Relevant factsFree
Amador (plaintiff), a histotechnician, refused her hospital employer's (defendant's) directive to perform "grosscutting" of patient tissue samples, believing — supported by three independent pathologists — that this procedure required a doctor's training and that an improper cut could endanger a patient's life; after being suspended and then terminated for insubordination, she was denied unemployment benefits on the ground she'd been fired for misconduct.
IssueFree
Whether an employee has been terminated for misconduct, for purposes of California unemployment-insurance benefits, if discharged for refusing to perform work she reasonably and in good faith believed would jeopardize others' health.