Wisconsin DWD v. WLIRC – Attendance Disqualification for UI Benefits
This case involves a dispute over whether Valarie Beres, a registered nurse, is entitled to unemployment insurance benefits (UI). Beres was fired from an assisted-living center after she missed one day of work during her 90-day probationary period due to an illness; she did not notify her employer in advance that she would be absent as required by the employer’s attendance policy. The Supreme Court reviews the following issues:
- Did the Labor and Industry Review Commission (LIRC) err in refusing to apply the absence standard specified by the employer solely because that standard is “stricter” than the UI statutory attendance disqualification standard that applies when the employer has no policy?
- Does the practice of courts deferring to agency interpretations of statutes comport with Article VII, Section 2 of the Wisconsin Constitution, which vests the judicial power in the unified court system? More on deference in the Foundation blog.