Misconduct Cases

In a misconduct case, the burden is always on the employer to prove:

(1) That the claimant engaged in misconduct, and

(2) That the misconduct occurred in connection with the work.

Misconduct has been defined by the Michigan Supreme Court, in connection with unemployment compensation cases, as willful and wanton disregard of the employer's interest, or of the employer's reasonable standards of behavior or the actions of the worker must show gross negligence (for example, giving wrong medication to a patient).

However, the mere inability to do the job, or good-faith errors in judgment, is not considered misconduct in an unemployment compensation case. Remember that the employer can have a perfectly good and valid reason to fire an employee, even though the reason may not amount to misconduct for purposes of the unemployment compensation law.

The employer may need to show, through testimony and, if possible, documents, that there was an employer policy on the particular conduct involved, that the policy was applied equally to all employees, that the employer had not previously condoned the actions that resulted in the discharge.  In some cases, it is useful to show that the claimant had received warnings about infractions, and that the claimant continued in the misconduct after the warnings.

However, in the most serious offenses, warnings need not be given prior to discharge, in order for the worker to be disqualified for unemployment benefits