Chrysler Corp v Devine
Digest No. 13.04
Section 421.29(1)(d)
Cite as: Chrysler Corp. v. De Vine, 92 Mich. App. 555, 285 N.W.2d 373 (1979)
Court: Court of Appeals of Michigan
Appeal pending: No
Claimant: Kevin DeVine
Employer: Chrysler Corporation
Date of decision: September 20, 1979
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HOLDING: Given the good faith of the claimant, actual non-receipt of the notice constituted good cause for his nonattendance under MCLA ยง 421.29(1)(d).
FACTS: Plaintiff employer appealed the decision by a Michigan circuit court, which affirmed the decision of the Michigan Employment Security Appeal Board that defendant employee was not disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits. Claimant was laid off from employer’s plant and applied for benefits. His unemployment claim form listed his address as that of his parents, although he was living in an apartment away from home. Claimant failed to appear for the requested interview because he did not receive the message regarding the telegram until well after the date of the interview. The employer claimed that the claimant’s non-receipt of actual notice sent by the employer had not constituted good cause for the claimant to fail to report to an interview.
DECISION: The court affirmed the circuit court’s judgment.
RATIONALE: In order for good cause to be present for the failure to attend, the reason must be substantial, significant, and reasonable. See Keith v Chrysler Corp, 390 Mich 458, 475; 213 NW2d 147 (1973). The employer’s claim of an agency theory that reasonable notice to the mother constituted notice to the employee was rejected because the court determined that the Legislature did not intend general principles of agency to apply to the case at bar. The court emphasized the employee’s good faith in the matter, because he was at all times ready and willing to go back to work. Therefore, actual non-receipt of the notice constituted good cause for his nonattendance of the offered interview.
Digest author: Toni Suh, Michigan Law, Class of 2020
Digest updated: January 29, 2021