Chapter 13 REFUSAL OF WORK Sections 29(1)(c)(d)(e), 29(6)
Sections 29(1)(d), 29(6)
REFUSAL OF WORK, Failure to report for interview, Good cause, Loss of recall rights, Seniority, Suitable work
CITE AS: Keith v Chrysler Corp, 390 Mich 458 (1973).
Appeal pending: No
Claimant: John Keith
Employer: Chrysler Corporation
Docket No: B69 4276 38096
SUPREME COURT HOLDING: A one-year employee's dislike for assembly work, and his desire to keep his status at another plant, are not good cause for failing to interview for work which meets the requirements of suitability in a general manner.
FACTS: Mr. Keith was a washer-degreaser at the Detroit Tank Plant, with one year of seniority, when he was laid off. He was told verbally and by telegram to report for an interview at the Hamtramck Assembly Plant, but he failed to appear. "The basis of his inaction was dislike for assembly work and his desire not to lose his status at the Tank Plant."
DECISION: The decision in 41 Mich App 708 (1972) is affirmed by an evenly divided court. "We cannot find that in the case of a worker with slightly more than one year's seniority such dislikes and desires establish good cause for failure to merely attend an interview.
RATIONALE: "The establishment of suitable work under (Section) 29(1)(d) ... does not demand the specificity and in depth inquiry of (Section) 29(1)(e). When a claimant refuses to attend an interview, and bases this refusal on the unsuitability of the work that would probably be offered to him, the employer need only demonstrate that the probable employment meets in a general manner the requirements of (Section) 29(6). Cf. Michigan Tool Co. v Employment Security Commission, 346 Mich 673, 679-680; 78 NW2d 571 (1956)."
11/90
NA