Appeal of St. Louis

35 A.3d 518, 162 N.H. 762
CourtSupreme Court of New Hampshire
DecidedDecember 8, 2011
Docket2010-531
StatusPublished

This text of 35 A.3d 518 (Appeal of St. Louis) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of New Hampshire primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Appeal of St. Louis, 35 A.3d 518, 162 N.H. 762 (N.H. 2011).

Opinion

Hicks, J.

The petitioner, Ellen St. Louis, appeals the decision of the New Hampshire Department of Employment Security (DES) Appellate Board (board) denying her claim for unemployment benefits. We affirm.

*763 The record supports the following facts. The petitioner began working for Insight Technology in 2004. Throughout her employment she held various assembly positions, which, at times, required soldering work. She regularly received good performance reviews.

Insight Technology has a policy to take disciplinary action for poor performance and violations of company rules, safety measures, or accepted standards of conduct. The petitioner was given a copy of this policy when she began working.

On March 10, 2009, the petitioner received a disciplinary notice stating that her conduct was not in line with company policy because she appeared to be asleep at work and was argumentative when her trainer instructed her regarding her faulty soldering work. Subsequently, the petitioner informed a human resources representative that she was having difficulties breathing and that she was depressed. The human resources representative recommended she take medical leave.

The petitioner took medical leave beginning on March 13,2009. She was diagnosed with emphysema, chronic obstructive asthma, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, sleep apnea, and depression. On May 26,2009, the petitioner’s doctor released her to return to work with no restrictions.

The petitioner claims that when she returned to work she could no longer perform soldering work because the fumes caused headaches, and caused her to shake, cough, and have difficulty breathing. She also claims that she informed her supervisor that she could not solder. The record indicates, however, that she never provided Insight Technology with any medical records or doctor’s instructions regarding her breathing problems or opinions regarding her inability to do soldering work.

On June 10,2009, the petitioner received another disciplinary notice that her conduct was not in line with company policy because she was soldering poorly. The notice further stated that she was properly trained and had performed “flawlessly” in the past; however, her failure to follow instructions was producing poor quality work.

She was terminated on June 24,2009. The termination notice stated that her conduct was not in line with company policy because she continued to deviate from proper work procedures and produce poorly soldered work. It also stated that she was not retaining the necessary information when she was being retrained on soldering. The notice concluded that she was “not able to be relied upon to produce quality product or perform according to required Work Instructions.”

The petitioner applied for, but was denied, unemployment benefits because the certifying officer found that she was terminated for misconduct in connection with her work. She appealed to the DES Appeal Tribunal *764 (tribunal), which held a hearing at which both the petitioner and a human resources representative from Insight Technology testified. The tribunal concluded that she was terminated for misconduct, finding that she chose not to follow proper procedure, which she knew, had been trained on, and had performed in the past. The petitioner requested to have her case reopened. She asserted, among other things, that she was terminated because she was unable to do the work, which, she argued, is not misconduct under the law.

The petitioner was granted a limited reopening so that the tribunal could determine whether her poor performance was the result of negligence or an inability to do the work. Following rehearing, the tribunal found:

Neither the claimant nor her doctor referenced her medical condition as impacting her ability to follow work instructions.
The Chairman considered the claimant was aware she needed to follow proper procedure. The claimant was aware of the procedure, and had performed such work flawlessly in the past. The Chairman therefore finds the claimant’s discharge was not for an inability to perform the work.

Rather, the tribunal found that the petitioner “had repeated instances of negligence when she did not follow procedure.”

The petitioner then appealed to the board arguing, in part, that the tribunal made an error of law because the reason given for her termination, namely, poor performance, does not meet the standard for misconduct. The board sustained the tribunal’s decision, concluding that the record showed that the petitioner was medically released to return to work without restrictions, which “the employer was entitled to rely on” when judging the petitioner’s performance. The petitioner filed a motion for reconsideration, which was denied. This appeal followed.

On appeal, the petitioner argues that Appeal of Lakeview NeuroRehabilitation Center, 150 N.H. 205 (2003), supports her contention that employees, such as herself, terminated for conduct outside of their control are entitled to benefits. The petitioner also argues that the board improperly placed a burden upon her to inform her employer of her medical condition and seek accommodations. In her reply brief, she also asserts that the tribunal’s factual finding that she was not terminated because she was unable to do the work is not supported by the evidence.

Judicial review of DES decisions is governed by RSA 282-A:67 (2010):

The court shall not substitute its judgments for that of the appeal tribunal as to the weight of evidence on questions of fact. *765 The court shall reverse or modify the decision of the appeal tribunal, or remand the case for further proceedings, as determined by the court, only if the substantial rights of the appellant had been prejudiced because the administrative findings, inferences, or conclusions are:
(a) In violation of constitutional or statutory provi- ■ sions;
(b) In excess of statutory authority;
(c) Made upon unlawful procedures;
(d) Clearly erroneous in view of the substantial evidence on the whole record; or
(e) Affected by other error of law.

RSA 282-A:67, V.

The petitioner first asks us to review only the decision of the board, and not the decision of the tribunal, stating in her reply brief that “[i]t is this decision from which [she] appeals, and asks this Court to reverse.” The petitioner argues that the board erred when it stated that

the New Hampshire Supreme Court has not yet provided any specific guidance on whether or not the mere inability to perform the work constitutes “careless or negligent acts” constituting “misconduct” for purposes of ineligibility.

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Related

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529 A.2d 935 (Supreme Court of New Hampshire, 1987)
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In re Lakeview Neurorehabilitation Center, Inc.
834 A.2d 374 (Supreme Court of New Hampshire, 2003)
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877 A.2d 207 (Supreme Court of New Hampshire, 2005)
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904 A.2d 645 (Supreme Court of New Hampshire, 2006)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
35 A.3d 518, 162 N.H. 762, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/appeal-of-st-louis-nh-2011.