Decker Coal Co. v. Employment Security Division of Montana State Department of Labor

Appellants (collectively hereafter “claimants”) appeal from a decision of the District Court, Thirteenth Judicial District, Yellowstone County, which in effect held that claimants were not entitled to unemployment insurance benefits.

Two principal issues arise in this appeal. The first is procedural, raised by us, whether MAPA (Montana Administrative Procedure Act) applies to agency and court handling of claims for unemployment insurance benefits (for brevity “claims”). The second issue is substantive, whether a stoppage of work occurred which disqualified claimants for benefits.

We hold that…