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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