Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Commission --
Summary of Wisconsin Court Decision relating to Unemployment Insurance


Subject: Mark W. Jones v. LIRC and American Cancer Society, Inc., Case 10-CV-3207 (Wis. Cir. Ct., Brown Co., June 22, 2011)


Digest Codes: BR 339 - Requalification - ET 483.10 - Excluded private employment - Nonprofit org. - ER 495 - Inter - or multi-state employment - location of services

Claimant worked for American Cancer Society, Inc. (“ACS”). ACS is headquartered in Georgia. Claimant lived in Green Bay and did some of his work for ACS there, in the offices of American Cancer Society Midwest Division, Inc. (“ACSMD”), and some on trips around the country. After his employment with ACS ended and he applied for benefits, the Department determined that ACS was not a covered employer under Ch. 108 because it was a non-profit and had fewer than 4 employees working in the State of Wisconsin; therefore, claimants wages for work for ACS could not be used in his base period and he did not qualify for benefits. Claimant raised a number of arguments, including that ACS and ACSMD were essentially a single employer such that the Wisconsin employees of ACSMD should be counted towards ACS being covered, and alternatively that employees of ACS outside of Wisconsin should be counted. LIRC's decision  rejected these arguments and upheld the decision that ACS was not a covered employer.

Held: Affirmed. LIRC"s decision is entitled to “due weight” deference in that it has some prior experience in reviewing and deciding cases about whether a non-profit organization was a covered employer based on the number of individuals it had performing services for it in Wisconsin. Jones" argument that ACSMD employees should be counted is not reasonable. Jones wasn"t employed by ACSMD, but rather by ACS. It is a separate and distinct legal entity with its principal place of business in Georgia. It has less that four employees working in the state of Wisconsin. Likewise it is unreasonable to interpret the statute to provide that a non-profit comes under the purview of the statute if they employ more than four people anywhere else in the United States.


Please note that this is a summary prepared by staff of the commission, not a verbatim reproduction of the court decision.

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