Derek Wilczysnki of Blanco Wilczynski Law Firm Wins Unemployment Benefits Dispute
A Blanco Wilczynski client was at risk of being charged and responsible for unemployment benefits for an employee who voluntarily quit without notice. Derek Wilczynski, of Blanco Wilczynski, successfully handled this UIA mater on behalf of the firm’s client, a small Michigan supermarket/gas station.
The employee’s last worked on March 16 of 2020. Three days later, she felt sick with commonly recognized principal symptoms of COVID-19. She claims she was advised by medical professionals to self-isolate for fourteen days, which she communicated with the employer. Initially, the Unemployment Insurance Agency found that the employee was not entitled to benefits, but reconsidered after receiving information from the employee. According to the employee’s testimony, a “manager” of the employer told the employee that she needed to produce a “doctor’s note” to return to work. The employee believed, and the UIA initially agreed, that she was constructively discharged from her employment and was eligible for benefits.
After a hearing on the merits, the Administrative Law Judge hearing the case disagreed. Taking testimony from the “manager” and the store owner, the AJL concluded that, as of March 29 of 2020, the employee had voluntarily quit – without providing a notice of her departure. The employer testified that the employee was never required to provide a doctor’s note, as it was the store’s policy since the start of the pandemic to suspend the requirement to require doctor’s notes for longtime illnesses. This testimony was supported by the employer’s business records, which showed that the employee had reported to another manager that she voluntarily resigned because she feared contracting COVID-19.
The ALJ found that by the employee voluntarily resigning from her place of employment, without offering any evidence that she was immunocompromised at the time of her resignation, she would no longer qualify for unemployment benefits at the expense of her employer and found in the employer’s favor.
