In the Matter of: Karen M. Erickson.

This opinion is nonprecedential except as provided by
Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 136.01, subd. 1(c).

STATE OF MINNESOTA
IN COURT OF APPEALS
A21-0081

In the Matter of: Karen M. Erickson.

Filed August 30, 2021
Affirmed
Johnson, Judge

Department of Employment and Economic Development
File No. 42407829-2

Karen Erickson, Howard Lake, Minnesota ( pro se relator)

Keri A. Phillips, Anne B. Froelich, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic
Development, St. Paul, Minnesota (for respondent department)

Considered and decided by Gaïtas , Presiding Judge; Worke , Judge; and Johnson ,
Judge.
NONPRECEDENTIAL OPINI ON
JOHNSON, Judge
Karen M. Erickson applied for unemployment benefits and was denied because she
had not earned enough wages in the prior quarter -year. We conclude that the
unemployment-law jud ge did not err by determining that Erickson is not entitled to benefits
because she did not have enough wage credits to establish a benefit account. Therefore,
we affirm.

FACTS
Erickson worked as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) at Augustana Dassel
Lakeside Community, a nursing home, from September 2018 to February 2020, when her
employment was terminated. Erickson applied for unemployment benefits. In March
2020, the department of employment and economic development made an initial
determination that she was ineligible on the ground that she was terminated for aggravated
employment misconduct. Erickson filed an administrative appeal. An unemployment-law
judge (ULJ) found that Erickson had engaged in aggravated employment misconduct and,
thus, determined that she was ineligible for unemployment benefits. Because Erickson had
engaged in aggravated employment misconduct, the department canceled all of the wage
credits Erickson had earned while working at Augustana. Erickson did not request
reconsideration, and the decision became final.
In March 2020, Erickson began working as a CNA for Legacy of Delano, another
nursing home. Legacy terminated Erickson’s employment in June 2020 for unsatisfactory
performance. Erickson applied for unemployment ben efits on June 30, 2020, with an
effective date of June 28, 2020. The department made an initial determination that
Erickson does not qualify for a benefit account because she did not have sufficient wage
credits during the applicable base period of April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020.
Erickson filed an administrative appeal. A ULJ conducted a hearing by telephone
in September 2020. The ULJ found that Erickson filed her most recent application for
benefits on June 30, 2020, which means that the applicable ba se period is April 1, 2019, to
March 31, 2020. The ULJ found that Erickson had no wage credits from her work for
Augustana because they had been canceled. The ULJ found that Erickson had wage credits
of $1,449 from her work for Legacy because that is the amount she earned there during the
applicable base period. The ULJ reasoned that Erickson’s wage credits fall short of the
statutory minimum of $3,000. Accordingly, the ULJ determined that Erickson does not
have enough wage credits to establish a benefi t account. Erickson requested
reconsideration. The ULJ affirmed the prior ruling. Erickson, appearing pro se, appeals
by way of a petition for a writ of certiorari.
DECISION
Erickson argues that the ULJ erred by concluding that she does not have suffic ient
wage credits to establish a benefit account.
The department must pay unemployment benefits to an applicant who meets five
statutory requirements. Minn. Stat. § 268.069, subd. 1 (2020). The first of those five
requirements is that the applicant has e stablished a benefit account. Id., subd. 1(1); see
also Minn. Stat. § 268.07 (2020). To establish a benefit account, an applicant must have
earned a minimum amount of “wage credits” during the relevant period of time. Minn.
Stat. § 268.07, subd. 2(a); Samuelson v. Prudential Real Estate , 696 N.W.2d 830, 832
(Minn. App. 2005) . “Wage credits” are defined as “ the amount of wages paid within an
applicant’s base period for covered employment.” Minn. Stat. § 268.035, subd. 27 (2020).
The applicable “base period” is “the most recent four completed calendar quarters before
the effective date . . . if the application has an effective date occurring after the month
following the most recent completed calendar quarter.” Id., subd. 4(a). An applicant must
have earned, during the applicable base period, “at least 5.3 percent of the state’s average
annual wage rounded down to the next lower $100.” Minn. Stat. § 268.07, subd. 2(a). The
department represents to the court that the statutory formula results in a wage -credit
threshold of $3,000, and Erickson does not dispute that number.
This court reviews a ULJ’s decision regarding eligibility for unemployment benefits
to determine whether the findings, inferences, conclusion, or decision are affected by an
error of law, are unsupported by substantial evidence in view of the entire record, or are
arbitrary or capricious. See Minn. Stat. § 268.105, subd. 7(d) (2020). If the relevant facts
are not in dispute, we apply a de novo standard of review to the question whether an
applicant is eligible to receive unemployment benefits. Irvine v. St. John’s Lutheran
Church, 779 N.W.2d 101, 103 (Minn. App. 2010) (citing Markel v. City of Circle Pines,
479 N.W.2d 382, 384 (Minn. 1992)).
In her appellate brief, Erickson makes numerous arguments, many of which relate
to her attempts to re-apply for unemployment benefits after June 30, 2020. In its responsive
brief, the department notes that a department representative informed Erickson in August
2020 that if she withdrew her application and reapplied, she would satisfy the $3,000 wage-
credit requirement because she could rely on wage credits earned during the second quarter
of 2020. Nonetheless, to resolve this appeal, we must focus on Erickson’s arguments that
challenge the ULJ’s decision that, when she filed her application in June 2020, she did not
have enough wage credits in the applicable ba se period to establish a benefit account.
Erickson’s application for unemployment benefits was effective as of June 28, 2020.
The applicable base period is the four prior fully completed quarters. See Minn. Stat.
§ 268.035, subd. 4(a). Accordingly, Erickson’s base period is April 1, 2019 to March 31,
2020. Erickson worked for two employers during her base period: Augustana and Legacy.
She has no wage credits from her employment with Augustana because they were canceled
based on the determination that she was discharged for aggravated employment
misconduct. Erickson has $ 1,449 in wage credits from her employment with Legacy,
where she worked only in the last month of the applicable base period. That amount is less
than the minimum amount of wage credits that are needed to establish a benefit account.
See Minn. Stat. § 268.07, subd. 2(a). Because Erickson does not have enough wage credits
to establish a benefit account, she is not entitled to unempl oyment benefits.
Thus, the ULJ did not err by concluding that Erickson does not have enough wage
credits to establish a benefit account.
Affirmed.