On November 26, 2012, the Labor and Industry Review Commission (LIRC) affirmed an Administrative Law Judge’s decision that a legal secretary did not voluntarily reduce her work hours, so she remained eligible for unemployment benefits. Attorney Danielle Schroder represented the employee, and a copy of the decision may be found here.
On April 16, 2012, the employee, a 17 year employee of Nussberger Law Office, had returned to work from medical leave to find that Nussberger Law Office had reduced her full-time position to 19 hours per week, had stopped her retirement plan and had eliminated all bonuses. When the employer learned that the employee was filing for partial unemployment, it further reduced her hourly rate from $16.00 per hour to $13.00 per hour, claiming that the employee could make up the difference with unemployment compensation.
Nussberger Law Office argued that the employee had requested the part-time work. The Administrative Law Judge, and subsequently LIRC, did not find the employer’s argument persuasive. Nussberger Law Office had reduced the employee’s hours on its own. Therefore, the employee was entitled to unemployment benefits. If you need representation concerning a denial of unemployment benefits, please contact Hawks Quindel for a consultation.
LEGAL SECRETARY WITH REDUCED WORK HOURS IS ENTITLED TO UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS