Terry v. Employment Security Department

GTE Northwest, Inc. (GTE), notified Shirley J. Terry that it was eliminating her position and she needed to exercise her collective bargaining rights to "bump” a less senior employee, move to an existing vacancy, or the company would lay her off. Instead, Terry decided to accept the company’s early retirement offer. The Commissioner of the Employment Security Department of the State of Washington (the commissioner) denied her unemployment benefits, concluding she did not have good cause to quit as required by the Employment Security Act because she chose early retirement for personal reasons,…