Recently my employer terminated one employee fot his same thing and I thought nobody could be that stupid!<br /><br />Atlantic Workers Suspended<br /><br />By MICHAEL ELIASOHN / H-P Business Writer <br /><br />BENTON HARBOR -- Atlantic Automotive Components, which operates two factories in Benton Harbor, suspended more than a third of its work force Wednesday for allegedly collecting unemployment compensation while working for the company.<br /><br />The suspensions will continue until an investigation is completed.<br />Two employees, who asked that their names not be used and who are not affected, told The Herald-Palladium about the suspensions. One said 140 workers were suspended, and the other said the number was 143. Apparently all of the suspended workers are hourly employees.<br /><br />In September, when the company announced an expansion, to include adding 71 workers, employment totaled 383.<br /><br />The information about the suspensions was received Wednesday evening. President Karen McDougall or a Visteon Corp. spokesman couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday night or early this morning. Visteon owns 70 percent of Atlantic Automotive.<br /><br />An employee who wouldn't give his name called The Herald-Palladium on Oct. 29 and said more than 100 people were illegally drawing unemployment. "It's all over the shop," he said.<br /><br /><br />Two other employees and the spouse of a third later called the newspaper and gave similar information.<br /><br />"If there is an investigation in progress, we would not be in a position to comment," Norm Isotalo, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth said in November. He couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday night.<br /><br />Atlantic Automotive makes injection and blow-molded plastic parts and does related parts assembly for the auto industry.<br /><br />It opened its first factory on North Crystal Avenue in Benton Harbor in 1993 and its second on Territorial Road downtown in 1999.<br /><br />One of the employees who spoke Wednesday evening, who works at the Crystal Avenue facility, said McDougall addressed remaining employees there about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. She said she assumed the president also talked to the employees at the Territorial Avenue plant.<br /><br />Suspended employees working the 3 to 11 p.m. shift Wednesday were informed and told to leave during the shift, she said, and suspended employees on other shifts were called at home.<br /><br />The employee said Atlantic Automotive, like many auto industry plants, shuts down for two weeks in July and two weeks in December.<br /><br />Unionized hourly employees are entitled to draw unemployment compensation during those shutdowns, so a large number of those employees apparently continued to draw unemployment after they returned to work.<br /><br />Hourly employees have been represented by United Auto Workers Local 1972 since 1994.<br /><br />The other employee who talked to The Herald-Palladium said all of the 140 or 143 will be given a chance to appeal.<br /><br />But even those who regain their jobs are suspended until then, the other employee said. Remaining employees were given new identification badges before leaving Wednesday, which are different in appearance from the old ones.<br /><br />"There were a lot of police at Atlantic today," she said. "I know they increased the number of security guards.<br /><br />Since Atlantic Automotive has to maintain the flow of parts it makes to its customers, the employee said McDougall said outside workers would be coming in and some office staff might have to help with production.<br /><br />"It's been common knowledge at least three weeks, maybe a month," she continued. "It was common knowledge that people were drawing unemployment while they were working and there was an investigation going on."<br /><br />Isotalo of the state Labor Department said in November that allegations of fraud would be investigated by the department's Unemployment Insurance Agency.<br /><br />He said the maximum an unemployed person can draw is $362 a week for 26 weeks.<br /><br />Employers pay a quarterly unemployment insurance tax, which goes into a trust fund. Unemployment compensation payments are then charged to the employer's account.<br /><br />Isotalo said fraud cases involving unemployment compensation may be turned over to county prosecuting attorneys. Until informed by The Herald-Palladium Wednesday evening, Berrien County Prosecutor James Cherry said he was unaware of the situation at Atlantic Automotive.<br /><br />With its two factories within the city limits, Atlantic Automotive Components was always a welcome addition to the city.<br /><br />When it announced in September its planned addition to the Territorial Road factory and 71 more jobs, Mayor Wilce Cook praised the company for "making sure all individuals, especially the residents of Benton Harbor, have the opportunity and training to succeed."<br /><br />"Atlantic is very much a part of the community fabric and deserving of strong local support," Cook said.
