JACKSON, Miss. (CN) - The Mississippi Supreme Court allowed a former motel desk clerk to collect unemployment after she quit because she refused to engage in price gouging in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Justice Randolph said Patricia Sherman met the requisite burden of proof that she quit for good cause, because the post-storm rate hikes presented a "significant risk to her morals."
Sherman said her boss told her to charge higher rates for rooms after the hurricane left many residents homeless.
The decision reinstates her right to unemployment benefits, which had been initially granted, but later denied by the Mississippi Department of Employment Security's review board.
The county court had affirmed the board's ruling.
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.