Court of Appeals overturns Circuit Court decision awarding unemployment benefits to new mother-nurse

Sarah Duley was the Office Manager for Active Community Nursing LLC when she became pregnant.  Her doctor ordered her to take a maternity leave in November 2009.  When her leave was exhausted, she sought to perform some duties from home.  Ultimately, her employment was terminated when she and the employer could not agree on what hours she needed to work and where.

She sought unemployment benefits, which were denied by the highly political Michigan Compensation Appellate Commission.  The Circuit Court judge reversed this decision on appeal, finding that Duley had not voluntarily quit her job.  The Court of Appeals reversed and denied Duley any unemployment benefits.  Unlike similar cases of the past week, the Court cited the credibility that should be given to the hearing officer's conclusion that Duley "quit her job" based on testimony from her employer  that Duley rejected part-time employment and resigned.

Long and short:  in the current political climate, particularly in the MCAC and Michigan's courts, workers lose and corporations and insurers win.