Pizunski v Fastening House
Digest no. 10.10
Cite as: Pizunski v Fastening House, No. 73255 (unpublished opinion of the Mich App December 27, 1984).
Appeal pending: No
Claimant: Ed M. Pizunski
Employer: Fastening House
Docket no.: B81 08232 78656
Date of decision: December 27, 1984
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COURT OF APPEALS HOLDING: Where an individual quits a job that he never intended to be more than temporary, the separation is disqualifying.
FACTS: “Plaintiff, a Canadian citizen, was a member of the Muskegon Mohawk hockey team until January, 1981. In February, 1981, plaintiff’s wife’s employer temporarily transferred her to Ontario, Canada. Plaintiff accompanied his wife to Ontario and there accepted a job as a truck driver with defendant, Fastening House. In March, 1981, plaintiff’s wife completed her assignment in Ontario and returned to Muskegon. Plaintiff and his wife knew before going to Ontario that her assignment there would last only three to five weeks. The couple owned a home in the Muskegon area, and plaintiff had filed the papers necessary to obtain a “green card” which would enable him to work in the United States. The couple never intended that they would stay in Canada.”
DECISION: The claimant is disqualified for voluntary leaving.
RATIONALE: The Court relied on Laya v Cebar Construction Co, 101 Mich App 26 (1980), in reaching its decision. In Laya, the court “emphasized that the plaintiff before it had made a good faith effort to find permanent employment but had failed for reasons beyond his control.”
“Here, in contrast, plaintiff took the job in Canada knowing that his stay in Canada would be brief. Plaintiff here did not abandon as unworkable an experiment undertaken in good faith, but instead quit a job he never intended to be more than temporary. Under these circumstances, plaintiff’s decision to quit cannot be characterized as involuntary … ”
Digest Author: Board of Review (original digest here)
Digest Updated: 11/90