An Iowa judge has awarded jobless benefits to a hospice worker who allegedly quit after being told to let patients die rather than provide them with services.
State records indicate that in October 2023, social worker Alisha Ebert of Janesville began working for a Cedar Falls hospice program run by Compassus, a national company with facilities in four Iowa cities.
In December, Ebert resigned and subsequently applied for unemployment benefits. A hearing on the request was held on Feb. 15, with Ebert and her husband providing testimony. Compassus did not participate in the hearing.
Administrative Law Judge Daniel Zeno presided over the hearing and according to his factual findings, Ebert’s managers had “told her to make certain patients a lower priority in the hopes that the patients would die before Ms. Ebert was able to provide service to the patients.” As a result of that alleged directive, Ebert concluded that her morals and those of her employer were not in alignment, Zeno found.
Ebert continued to work for the company, but allegedly struggled in the job because of the high caseload and the amount of driving required for the job, Zeno found, noting that there was testimony that Ebert had almost twice the caseload as other social workers. When the situation at Compassus didn’t improve, Ebert resigned, giving the company one week’s notice.
Based on the testimony provided at the hearing, Zeno concluded Ebert was entitled to unemployment benefits, ruling that her working conditions were intolerable.
“It is reasonable to the average person that Ms. Ebert should not have to work in an environment where her manager at a job providing care for people in hospice would tell Ms. Ebert to essentially let people die instead of providing them with care,” Zeno stated in his ruling. “Ms. Ebert’s job ended when she quit because of her working conditions, and Ms. Ebert has established that her working conditions were intolerable and detrimental.”
Calls to Compassus’ Cedar Falls office and to the company’s corporate office in Tennessee were not returned on Monday.
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State records indicate that in October 2023, social worker Alisha Ebert of Janesville began working for a Cedar Falls hospice program run by Compassus, a national company with facilities in four Iowa cities.
In December, Ebert resigned and subsequently applied for unemployment benefits. A hearing on the request was held on Feb. 15, with Ebert and her husband providing testimony. Compassus did not participate in the hearing.
Administrative Law Judge Daniel Zeno presided over the hearing and according to his factual findings, Ebert’s managers had “told her to make certain patients a lower priority in the hopes that the patients would die before Ms. Ebert was able to provide service to the patients.” As a result of that alleged directive, Ebert concluded that her morals and those of her employer were not in alignment, Zeno found.
Ebert continued to work for the company, but allegedly struggled in the job because of the high caseload and the amount of driving required for the job, Zeno found, noting that there was testimony that Ebert had almost twice the caseload as other social workers. When the situation at Compassus didn’t improve, Ebert resigned, giving the company one week’s notice.
Based on the testimony provided at the hearing, Zeno concluded Ebert was entitled to unemployment benefits, ruling that her working conditions were intolerable.
“It is reasonable to the average person that Ms. Ebert should not have to work in an environment where her manager at a job providing care for people in hospice would tell Ms. Ebert to essentially let people die instead of providing them with care,” Zeno stated in his ruling. “Ms. Ebert’s job ended when she quit because of her working conditions, and Ms. Ebert has established that her working conditions were intolerable and detrimental.”
Calls to Compassus’ Cedar Falls office and to the company’s corporate office in Tennessee were not returned on Monday.
Judge: Iowa hospice program told worker to ‘let people die’
The judge said managers had “told her to make certain patients a lower priority in the hopes that the patients would die before Ms. Ebert was able to provide service.”
