Hammond v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review

In Hammond v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, 131 Pa. Commw. 166, 569 A.2d 1013 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1990), David L. Hammond (Hammond), a veterinarian, moved from Mississippi to Philadelphia to take a position at the University of Pennsylvania. Hammond's wife remained in Mississippi. One year later, Hammond's wife received an offer to move to Oregon to be part-owner and manager of a home for the elderly. Hammond's wife accepted the position. Hammond believed that his wife would divorce him and take custody of their three children, so he quit his job and moved to Oregon. The Board found Hammond ineligible for unemployment benefits because his reason for terminating his employment was not necessitous and compelling. Hammond, 569 A.2d at 1014-1015. The Court affirmed because Hammond failed to establish that his wife's decision to relocate was not one of purely personal preference but instead was beyond her control. Hammond, 569 A.2d at 1015.