Opinion ID: 1723445
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Facts and Application Empire Iron Mining v. Asmund and Empire Iron Mining v. Orhanen

Text: The sixteen employees in these cases are members of the United Steelworkers Union. From July 31, 1990, to December 1, 1990, they engaged in a strike against their employers, Empire Iron and Tilden Mining Companies. During the strike, all sixteen obtained interim employment. In Asmund, the employees obtained interim employment from one employer, whereas the employees in Orhanen obtained their interim employment through a union hiring hall. The jobs secured by the union hiring hall were from multiple employers. Nevertheless, in both cases, each employment lasted at least two consecutive weeks, with each interim employer paying the employee wages at or above his benefit rate. In time, when the interim employers laid off or reduced the hours of the employees, each steelworker applied for unemployment compensation benefits. The Michigan Employment Security Commission, having initially denied each worker's application for benefits, changed its rulings on redetermination. The mining companies appealed from that decision to an MESC referee. The referee held a hearing on each claim and reversed the MESC's decisions. The steelworkers then appealed to the Board of Review, which, in turn, reversed the referee's decisions, finding that each steelworker had met the necessary statutory requirements for requalification of benefits. M.C.L. § 421.29(8)(b); M.S.A. § 17.531(8)(b). The circuit court affirmed the Board of Review. The mining companies then appealed to the Court of Appeals.