Sections 43(m), 43(q)(2) [now 43(q)(ii)]
EXCLUDED EMPLOYMENT, Co-op student
CITE AS: General Motors Corp. v Walworth, Genesee Circuit Court, No. 88-000970-AV (November 22, 1989).
Appeal pending: No
Claimant: Renee Walworth
Employer: General Motors Corp.
Docket No. B87-06444-105587
CIRCUIT COURT HOLDING: Services performed by the claimant through a co-op program were excluded from covered employment under the Michigan Employment Security Act.
FACTS: The claimant was an accounting student at the University of Michigan, Flint. In September of 1985 the claimant, through the school's co-op program, applied and was hired for a position in a General Motors Corp. accounting and financial department at the Flint Truck and Bus Assembly Plant. In the Spring of 1986 the claimant enrolled in a class at school entitled "Management Cooperative Experience" for which she received three credits. Later the claimant was laid off and applied for unemployment benefits. The school's director of co-op programs wrote a letter to verify the claimant was considered a co-op student and was placed in a co-op position at General Motors Corp while she was enrolled in business administration and accounting course work.
DECISION: The claimant was ineligible for benefits under Section 43(m) and 43(q)(2) of the Michigan Employment Security Act.
RATIONALE: Claimant would not have gotten the job if she was not designated a co-op student. She received three credits for a class because of these work experiences. She did not need to receive co-op credit for her entire work experience to be excluded under the Act. Rather, she needed only to be involved in a full-time program at the school. Further, although the school's letter used the term "verify," it satisfied the "certification" requirement contained in Section 43(m).
The Referee also observed the class claimant took appears to fit exactly into Section 43(q)(2) [now 43(q)(ii)] of the Michigan Employment Security Act.
7/99
3, 11: N/A