Employment Security Commission v. Arrow Plating Co.
Employment Security Commission v. Arrow Plating Co.
Opinion of the Court
Basically the facts of this case are not disputed. Before and including Friday, Febru
Arrow Plating began operations in the Hamtrack building February 8, 1965. Within a year, Arrow’s work force had grown from 5 employees to 35 employees, and the gross sales were $209,000, compared to Wade Boring’s sales in 1964 of $35,000. Arrow’s business was confined to plating operations, while Wade Boring had done both plating and sheet metal fabrication.
This appeal has grown out of the subsequent dispute between Arrow Plating Company and the Michigan employment security commission. Normally, a new organization that is subject to the employment
“(2) Any individual, legal entity or employing unit which acquired the organization, trade or business, or 75% or more of the assets thereof, of another which at the time of such acquisition was an employer subject to this act.”
Our problem is whether Arrow Plating is properly classed as a successor employer under this act. Arrow maintains it is not a successor employer under the act, while the employment security commission feels otherwise. The commission’s referee held Arrow Plating was a successor employer. The Michigan employment security appeal board reversed the referee and held that Arrow was not a successor employer. The commission filed an appeal with the circuit court for Wayne county, which
The critical wording of section 41(2) is the phrase defining what must be acquired by a successor employer as “the organization, trade or business, or 75% or more of the assets”. By using the conjunction “or”, the legislature obviously intended that a successor employer need only meet one of these listed criteria to be so classified.
No issue is raised in this case as to whether Arrow Plating took over the trade or business of Wade Boring. It is clear that it did not. The clientele of the two businesses were different. The sale of certain assets did not include the sale of customers. There is also evidence that the type of work performed by the two companies would appeal to different markets. This case is thus factually different from Valley Metal Products Company v. Employment Security Commission (1961), 365 Mich 297, which presented some elements similar to this case, but where the trade or business was transferred.
The Michigan employment security commission advances the theory that Arrow Plating obtained more than 75% of the assets of Wade Boring Works, because the value of the accounts receivable can be disregarded. The commission argues that including the accounts receivable as an asset would be like having a purchaser pay cash for cash. This theory was held untenable by the trial court. We agree. It is admitted by the commission that its theory is not in accord with standard accounting principles. This theory is also not in accord with the legal precedents of Michigan, that intangible assets are properly considered as assets for the purpose of the employment security act. Russ Dawson, Inc. v. Unemployment Compensation Commission (1952), 334
The remaining phrase defining a successor employer was the downfall of defendant Arrow Plating in the trial court. It was held that Arrow acquired the “organization” of Wade Boring because it retained the work force of Wade Boring. Such a holding was erroneous.
The term “organization” has not been expressly defined in Michigan; therefore, confusion concerning the term is not surprising. In order to define “organization” for the purposes of this statute, attention must be paid to the evil this section of the act sought to combat. The successor employer provision seeks to prevent the sliding scale employer contribution rate from being defeated by paper reorganizations which, in fact, change nothing. In this light, “organization” means the vital, integral parts which are necessary for continued operation. In this case, there was not a transfer of the vital, integral parts required for continued operation of
The decision of the circuit court is reversed. No' costs, the interpretation of a public statute being involved.
OLS 1961, § 421.22 (Stat Ann 1963 Cum Supp § 17.524).
CLS 1961, § 421.41 (Stat Ann 1963 Cum Supp § 17.543).
Concurring Opinion
{concurring). The employment security act contains two applicable definitions. One defines “employer”
It will be observed (footnotes 1 and 2) that while one who acquires the “organization, trade or business” of another is an “employer”, such an acquisi-' tion is not regarded as a “transfer of the business” unless there has been either an acquisition and use of the transferor’s trade name or good will, or the transferee has continued or resumed all or part of the business of the transferor.
I am inclined to think that when Arrow Plating acquired all the employees, excepting the proprietor Mr. Beck, all the plating equipment and the leasehold of "Wade Boring Works, which leasehold, although terminable, was not in fact to be terminated — indeed, the leasehold was the raison d’etre of the entire transaction — Arrow acquired the “organization, trade or business” of Wade.
However, I see no need to decide whether Arrow is an “employer”. The only question raised by the Michigan employment security commission determination, taken to the appeal board by Arrow, was whether there was a “transfer of business” within
It is undisputed that Arrow did not acquire and use "Wade’s trade name or good will. Nor did Arrow continue or resume all or part of Wade’s business. Wade and Arrow used different plating processes. Arrow never did business with any of Wade’s customers. Thus, Arrow’s method of operation, product, and customers were different from that of Wade. The appeal board’s finding that there was not a “transfer of business” is supported by substantial evidence.
I concur in the reversal of the judgment here on appeal.
“See. 41. ‘Employer’ means * * * (2) Any individual, legal entity or employing unit which acquired the organization, trade or business, or 75% or more of the assets thereof, of another which at the time of such acquisition was an employer subject to this act.” CLS 1961, § 421.41 (Stat Ann 1963 Cum Supp § 17.543).
“See. 22(a) If an employer subject to this act transfers subsequent to June 30, 1954, any of the assets of his business by any means otherwise than in the ordinary course of trade, such transfer shall be deemed a ‘transfer of business’ for the purposes of this section if the commission determines:
“(1) That the transferee is an employer subject to this act on the transfer date or has become so subject as of the transfer date under section 41(2) * * * and
“(2) That the transferee has acquired and used the transferor’s trade name or good will, or that the transferee has continued or within 12 months after the transfer resumed all or part of the busi
The question does not turn on disputed faets, nor would it appear to be one within the special competence of the appeal board to decide.
While the appeal board decided both that Arrow was not an employer and that there was not a transfer of business, the basic dispute was whether by reason of a “transfer of [Wade’s] business” to Arrow, Arrow should be burdened with the higher experience rating of Wade. This appears not only from the nature of the arguments to us, but also from the initiating document. That document, a “notiee of determination of transfer of rating account”, from the employment security commission to Arrow, advised Arrow that certain records indicated that on February 7, 1965, a transfer of business occurred “wherein you acquired assets involving 100% of the payroll for the four completed calendar quarters prior to the date of acquisition, from Frank C. Beck, an individual owner, d/b/a Wade Boring Works”, and that, accordingly, it was determined the total rating account of the transferor would be transferred to Arrow as provided in section && of the act. It was from that determination that Arrow appealed. The employment security commission later issued a redetermination confirming its prior determination. Arrow appealed that redetermination.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Employment Security Commission v. Arrow Plating Company, Inc.
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- 8 cases
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- Published