STATE OF WISCONSIN
LABOR AND INDUSTRY REVIEW COMMISSION
P O BOX 8126, MADISON, WI 53708-8126 (608/266-9850)

MONICA A LOGEMANN, Employee

OCONOMOWOC MEMORIAL
HOSPITAL INC, Employer

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE DECISION
Hearing No. 11003045MD


An administrative law judge (ALJ) for the Division of Unemployment Insurance of the Department of Workforce Development issued a decision in this matter. A timely petition for review was filed.

The commission has considered the petition and the positions of the parties, and it has reviewed the evidence submitted to the ALJ. Based on its review, the commission makes the following:

FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

The employee initiated a claim for unemployment benefits in week 31 of 2009. Her benefit year ended in week 30 of 2010. The employee exhausted her eligibility for regular, emergency, and extended unemployment benefits in week 16 of 2011. As of week 17 of 2011, the only unemployment benefit program for which the employee was potentially eligible was extended training benefits.

The issue to be decided is whether the employee was eligible for extended training benefits as of week 17 of 2011.

The employee began a Health Information Technology - Electronic Health Records certificate program at Madison Area Technical College in November 2010. It was a four-course, 12-credit program that ended in June 2011. The program only allowed the employee to take one course at a time, with each course granting two or four credits. The employee's coursework ended on June 16, 2011 (week 25). The employee completed the program requirements and was awarded her Electronic Health Records Technical/Software Support Staff Certificate.

Under Wis. Stat. § 108.06(7), to be eligible for extended training benefits a claimant must be otherwise eligible for benefits, be currently enrolled in approved training (as defined in Wis. Stat. § 108.04(16)), and, if not in a current benefit year, have a benefit year that ended no earlier than 52 weeks prior to the week for which the claimant first claimed extended training benefits.

As of week 17 of 2011, the first week the employee filed a claim for extended training benefits, the employee had exhausted her rights to regular, emergency, and extended unemployment benefits. She was otherwise eligible for benefits, and her benefit year ended within the previous 52 weeks. Having met those requirements, the only question remaining is whether the employee's schooling was "approved training," as defined in Wis. Stat. § 108.04(16).

Wisconsin Stat. § 108.04(16) provides:

(16) APPROVED TRAINING. (a) In this subsection, "approved training" means:

1. A course of vocational training or basic education which is a prerequisite to such training in which an individual is enrolled if:

a. The course is expected to increase the individual's opportunities to obtain employment;

b. The course is given by a school established under s. 38.02 or another training institution approved by the department;

c. The individual is enrolled full time as determined by the training institution;

d. The course does not grant substantial credit leading to a bachelor's or higher degree; and

e. The individual is attending regularly and making satisfactory progress in the course.

The appeal tribunal found that the employee was not in approved training under Wis. Stat. § 108.04(16) because she was a part-time student. The appeal tribunal's finding was based on the fact that the employee's course of study involved coursework granting a total of 12 credits in increments of two or four credits over a six-month period.

As a general rule, the department accepts a training institution's definition of full-time when determining whether an individual is enrolled in approved training on a full-time basis. However, there are exceptions to that general rule. As long as an employee is taking all credits available for a course, the employee is considered to be enrolled full-time. Hubbard v. Quadra, UI Dec. Hearing No. 07600059RC (LIRC April 23, 2007). The department specifically notes in its Disputed Claims Manual that "(c)ertificate and diploma programs often require only a small number of credits (usually 3 to 6) for completion of the entire program. Persons enrolled in these programs are considered full-time students because they are taking the only credits offered for those programs." Disputed Claims Manual, Approved Training, Part II, Section G: Regular Vocational Training.

Here, because the vocational program in which the employee was enrolled required her to take four classes over a course of six months for which a total of 12 credits were granted, the employee was taking all available credits in her particular course of study. The program met all of the other requirements of Wis. Stat. § 108.04(16). Accordingly, the employee was enrolled in approved training as of week 17 of 2011.

The commission therefore finds that, beginning in week 17 of 2011, the employee was eligible for extended training benefits, within the meaning of Wis. Stat. § 108.06(7).

DECISION

The decision of the administrative law judge is reversed. Accordingly, the employee is eligible for extended training benefits beginning in week 17 of 2011, if otherwise qualified.

Dated and Mailed October 31, 2011
logemmo . urr : 152 : 1

BY THE COMMISSION:

/s/ Robert Glaser, Chairperson

Ann L. Crump, Commissioner

/s/ Laurie R. McCallum, Commissioner

 

NOTE: The commission did not consult with the administrative law judge regarding witness credibility or demeanor. The commission did not reverse the appeal tribunal based on a differing assessment of witness credibility or demeanor but reverses as a matter of law.


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