Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc. v. Employment Appeal Board

LAVORATO, Justice.

The issue we face in this judicial review proceeding is whether a letter the employer sent striking workers notifying them that they were being permanently replaced severed the employment relationship between the employer and these claimants. The agency found there was such a severance of employment and that the severance was the cause of the unemployment. The agency therefore concluded that the striking workers who applied for unemployment benefits (claimants) were not disqualified from such benefits under the provisions of Iowa Code section 96.5(4) (1993), a labor dispute…