Alebro, LLC v. Review Board of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development and Jason Scheidell

968 N.E.2d 236, 2012 WL 1339625, 2012 Ind. App. LEXIS 183
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 18, 2012
Docket93A02-1110-EX-970
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 968 N.E.2d 236 (Alebro, LLC v. Review Board of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development and Jason Scheidell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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Alebro, LLC v. Review Board of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development and Jason Scheidell, 968 N.E.2d 236, 2012 WL 1339625, 2012 Ind. App. LEXIS 183 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinions

OPINION

VAIDIK, Judge.

Case Summary

Alebró, LLC, appeals the decision of the Unemployment Insurance Review Board of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development (“Review Board”) granting its terminated employee, Jason Scheidell, unemployment benefits. Alebró argues that the Review Board erred in failing to admit documents as evidence at the hearing, used the wrong burden of proof, and erred in allowing Scheidell to rebut Aleb-ro’s prima facie case of just cause for termination by arguing instead that he had committed a different terminable offense. We hold that if an employee’s explanation for the behavior that led to his termination is another terminable offense, that provides just cause for termination. We therefore reverse.

Facts and Procedural History

Alebró, LLC, is a retail seller of salt that employed Jason Scheidell from June 16, 2004, until June 20, 2011. Alebró had noticed for some time that it had been missing inventory, but it did not know why. In June 2011, a customer of Alebró, Mr. Adams, notified Alebró that Scheidell had offered to sell him what he claimed was his own salt at a price lower than that at which Alebró would sell it. Alebró instructed Mr. Adams to go through with the transaction, so Mr. Adams agreed to buy one pallet of salt from Scheidell for $150. The purchase took place at Alebro’s warehouse at the far end of the loading dock.

Alebró fired Scheidell for theft, alleging that the salt that he sold to Mr. Adams was actually Alebro’s missing salt. Schei-dell filed for unemployment compensation and was denied. Scheidell appealed. The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) conducted a telephonic hearing, during which documents Alebró claimed proved the salt was its own were not admitted into evidence because proper procedure was not followed, specifically, Alebró did not send the documents to Scheidell before the hearing. Also, Scheidell attempted to rebut Alebro’s [238]*238prima face case of theft by admitting instead that he only breached his duty of loyalty to Alebró by selling salt on Alebro’s property at a lower price than Alebró sold it for, another terminable offense. The ALJ reversed, determining that Scheidell had not been terminated for just cause for theft. The ALJ did not consider that Scheidell’s explanation for his behavior was an admission that he committed another terminable offense. The finding was upheld by the Review Board, which adopted the findings and conclusions of the ALJ.

Alebró now appeals.

Discussion and Decision

The Indiana Unemployment Compensation Act (“the Act”) provides that any decision of the Review Board shall be conclusive and binding as to all questions of fact. Ind.Code § 22 — 4-17-12(a). When the Review Board’s decision is challenged as contrary to law, the reviewing court is limited to a two-part inquiry into (1) the sufficiency of the facts found to sustain the decision and (2) the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the findings of fact. Ind.Code § 22-4-17-12(f). Under this standard, courts are called upon to review: (1) determinations of specific or basic underlying facts; (2) conclusions or inferences from those facts, or determinations of ultimate facts; and (3) conclusions of law. Chrysler Group, LLC v. Review Bd. of Ind. Dep’t of Workforce Dev., 960 N.E.2d 118, 122 (Ind.2012). The Review Board’s findings of basic fact are subject to a “substantial evidence” standard of review. Id. In this analysis, the appellate court neither reweighs the evidence nor assesses the credibility of witnesses and considers only the evidence most favorable to the Review Board’s findings. Id. The Review Board’s conclusions as to ultimate facts involve an inference or deduction based on the findings of basic fact. Id. Accordingly, they are typically reviewed to ensure that the Review Board’s inference is “reasonable” or “reasonable in light of [the Review Board’s] findings.” Id. at 13-18. Legal propositions are reviewed for their correctness. Id.

The Act was enacted to “provide for payment of benefits to persons unemployed through no fault of their own.” Ind.Code § 22-4-1-1; P.K.E. v. Review Bd. of Ind. Dep’t of Workforce Dev., 942 N.E.2d 125, 130 (Ind.Ct.App.2011), trans. denied. An individual is disqualified for unemployment benefits if he or she is discharged for “just cause,” Ind.Code § 22-4-15-1; P.K.E., 942 N.E.2d at 130, which includes gross misconduct, Ind.Code § 22-4-15-6.1. As set forth in Indiana Code section 22 — 4-15-6.1,

(b) “gross misconduct” means any of the following committed in connection with work, as determined by the department by a preponderance of the evidence:
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(5) Theft or embezzlement....

When an employee is alleged to have been discharged for just cause, the employer bears the burden of proof to make a prima facie showing of just cause. P.K.E., 942 N.E.2d at 130. Once the employer meets its burden, the burden shifts to the employee to rebut the employer’s evidence. Id. Here, the ALJ found that Scheidell was not terminated for just cause for theft of Alebro’s salt. The Review Board adopted the ALJ’s findings and conclusions.

Alebró contends that the Review Board erred in determining that Scheidell was not properly terminated for just cause because: (1) the ALJ failed to admit documents into evidence that showed that Scheidell stole salt from Alebró; (2) the ALJ improperly put the burden of proof [239]*239on Alebró to prove that Scheidell was ineligible for benefits; and (3) Scheidell attempted to rebut the allegation that he stole from Alebró by admitting instead that he only breached his duty of loyalty to Alebró, another terminable offense. We address each of these arguments in turn.

I.Admission of Documents

Alebró contends that the ALJ erred in failing to admit into evidence certain documents showing that the salt sold by Scheidell belonged to Alebró. We disagree. The Indiana Administrative Code squarely addresses this issue, stating in relevant part:

(d) When a hearing before an administrative law judge, or the review board, is scheduled by telephone, either with one (1) or both parties participating by telephone, the parties shall:
(1) exchange any exhibits to be introduced into the record at the hearing; and
(2) mail a copy of those exhibits to the administrative law judge, or to the review board, no later than four (4) days prior to the scheduled hearing date.

646 Ind. Admin. Code 5 — 10—24(d) (emphasis added).

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968 N.E.2d 236, 2012 WL 1339625, 2012 Ind. App. LEXIS 183, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/alebro-llc-v-review-board-of-the-indiana-department-of-workforce-indctapp-2012.