Broome v. MISSISSIPPI EMPLOYMENT SEC. COM'N

921 So. 2d 360, 2005 WL 1500287
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedJune 14, 2005
Docket2004-CC-00522-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 921 So. 2d 360 (Broome v. MISSISSIPPI EMPLOYMENT SEC. COM'N) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Broome v. MISSISSIPPI EMPLOYMENT SEC. COM'N, 921 So. 2d 360, 2005 WL 1500287 (Mich. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

921 So.2d 360 (2005)

Joe BROOME, Appellant
v.
MISSISSIPPI EMPLOYMENT SECURITY COMMISSION and Mississippi College, Appellees.

No. 2004-CC-00522-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

June 14, 2005.
Rehearing Denied September 13, 2005.

*361 Quentin P. McColgin, attorney for appellant.

W. Thomas McCraney, Jackson, Albert B. White, Madison, attorneys for appellees.

Before KING, C.J., CHANDLER and BARNES, JJ.

CHANDLER, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Joe Broome was discharged from Mississippi College and denied unemployment benefits on the grounds of misconduct. Broome appealed the denial and was granted a hearing before a Mississippi Employment Security Commission (MESC) appeals referee who determined that the benefits had been properly denied. Broome then appealed to the Board of Review, which adopted the findings of fact and opinion of the referee and affirmed. The Circuit Court of Hinds County upheld the Board's denial of benefits. Broome now appeals to this Court, raising the following issue:

WHETHER SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE EXISTED TO SUPPORT THE FINDING THAT THE CLAIMANT'S *362 ACTIONS OR INACTION CONSTITUTED DISQUALIFYING MISCONDUCT

¶ 2. We find that the MESC order disqualifying Carlisle from receiving unemployment benefits was not based on substantial evidence and was, therefore, arbitrary and capricious. We reverse and render.

FACTS

¶ 3. Joe Broome, a floater at Mississippi College, was terminated from his job on December 10, 2002. Broome had a record of unsatisfactory attendance problems during his employment. On July 16, 2001, he was given an unsatisfactory performance review for failing to report to work or notify the department. On January 18, 2002, Glenn Worley, the Director of the Physical Plant, gave a warning to Broome for absences from work, early leaves, and tardiness. Broome was told that continued absences would require written documentation explaining the reason for not being present. On January 28, 2002, Broome received an unsatisfactory performance review, because Broome had not been fully cooperative with campus security regarding an incident that happened the previous day. He was disruptive on the physical plant with personal matters, and he did not get permission to leave the work area on that day. He was suspended for one day as a result of this incident. He received a warning, which he refused to sign. On February 1, 2002, Broome was placed on a sixty day probation period regarding his job performance.

¶ 4. Broome's time cards from May 31, 2002 through December 10, 2002, reflected an excessive number of sick days, vacation days, and early leaves, and a pattern of absences. It is unclear whether these absences were excused. On November 8, 2002, Worley and James Carter, Supervisor of Building Services, had a conference with Broome regarding Broome's having missed work on November 7, 2002. Carter was Broome's immediate supervisor. Carter told Broome that he would need to bring a doctor's note for having missed work on that day. He went to the doctor's office that morning and obtained an excuse that covered November 1 to November 9, even though he had worked Monday, November 4, Tuesday, November 5, and Wednesday, November 6. Carter and Broome were suspicious of this excuse.

¶ 5. On Sunday, December 8, 2002, Broome was arrested and charged with armed robbery and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He remained in jail until December 11, when he posted bond. Because he was limited to the telephone calls he could make in jail, he called his girlfriend before his work shift began and asked her to notify his employer that he would be absent from work on December 9 and 10. Broome acknowledged that he did not want his employer to know that he had been arrested, and he did not instruct his girlfriend to tell the truth. However, he did not instruct his girlfriend to give false reasons for his absences. Broome told his girlfriend to state that his absences were due to important personal business. His girlfriend gave as reasons for his absence "family illness" on December 9 and his mother's illness on December 10. Broome testified that he did not know that his girlfriend would tell the employer that he was absent due to family sickness or emergencies.

¶ 6. On December 10, Broome's girlfriend called another employee at Mississippi College and asked if he could raise money for Broome's bail. The employee reported to Carter, and Carter reported to Worley. That afternoon, Worley confirmed the charges with a law enforcement official. After Worley consulted with his *363 own supervisor, Worley decided to terminate Broome.

¶ 7. Broome filed an application for unemployment benefits. The claims examiner denied Broome's application, finding that Broome's absenteeism without proper notification constituted misconduct. Broome appealed to the appeals referee, who held a hearing. The referee was of the opinion that Broome was discharged for falsifying the reason for his absence when he asked his girlfriend to call his employer and inform him that he would be absent from work on December 9 and 10 to take care of personal business. The referee found that, although Broome did not know what reasons his girlfriend would give for Broome's absence, "certainly the claimant did not tell his girlfriend to tell the truth which was that he was incarcerated." This finding was based on Broome's testimony that he did not want his supervisors to know that he had been incarcerated. The referee concluded that Broome did not properly report his absences, willfully and wantonly violated his employer's policies, and committed disqualifying misconduct.

¶ 8. After the appeals referee denied Broome's claim, Broome appealed to the Board of Review, which affirmed the referee's findings. Broome appealed the Board of Review's decision to the Hinds County Circuit Court. The court affirmed, finding that the Board's decision was supported by substantial evidence.

ANALYSIS

WHETHER SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE EXISTED TO SUPPORT THE FINDING THAT THE CLAIMANT'S ACTIONS OR INACTION CONSTITUTED DISQUALIFYING MISCONDUCT

¶ 9. This appeal is governed by Miss.Code Ann. § 71-5-531 (Rev.2000), which provides that the factual findings of the Board of Review, if supported by substantial evidence and in the absence of fraud, shall be conclusive. See also Richardson v. Mississippi Employment Sec. Comm'n, 593 So.2d 31, 34 (Miss.1992); Booth v. Mississippi Employment Sec. Comm'n, 588 So.2d 422, 423 (Miss.1991). Substantial evidence has been defined by the Mississippi Supreme Court to be "such relevant evidence as reasonable minds might accept as adequate to support a conclusion." Public Employees' Retirement System v. Marquez, 774 So.2d 421, 425 (¶ 13) (Miss.2000) (quoting Delta CMI v. Speck, 586 So.2d 768, 768 (Miss.1991)). A decision not based on substantial evidence is "arbitrary and capricious." Marquez, 774 So.2d at 429 (¶ 33).

¶ 10. An employee's claim for unemployment benefits will be denied if he was discharged for misconduct. Miss. Code Ann. § 71-5-513(A)(1)(b) (Rev.2000).

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Related

Broome v. MISSISSIPPI EMPLOYMENT SEC. COM'N
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