Charles A. Beard Classroom Teachers Ass'n v. Board of School Trustees

668 N.E.2d 1222, 1996 Ind. LEXIS 110, 1996 WL 439261
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 6, 1996
Docket33S05-9507-CV-797
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 668 N.E.2d 1222 (Charles A. Beard Classroom Teachers Ass'n v. Board of School Trustees) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Charles A. Beard Classroom Teachers Ass'n v. Board of School Trustees, 668 N.E.2d 1222, 1996 Ind. LEXIS 110, 1996 WL 439261 (Ind. 1996).

Opinions

ON PETITION TO TRANSFER

SULLIVAN, Justice.

We address a conflict which has emerged in the opinions of the Court of Appeals over the authority of state agencies to promulgate administrative rules allowing for extensions of time for filing objections in certain cases. We conclude that state agencies do have the authority to promulgate administrative rules allowing for extensions of time for filing objections in certain cases.

I

Under the Indiana Administrative Orders and Procedures Act (AOPA), a notice of objections to the findings of an administrative law judge (ALJ) must be filed within fifteen days of the ALJ's decision to preserve the party's subsequent rights of administrative and judicial review. The statute provides:

To preserve an objection to an order of an administrative law judge for judicial review, a party must not be in default under this chapter and must object to the order in a writing that:
(1) identifies the basis of the objection with reasonable particularity; and
(2) is filed with the ultimate authority responsible for reviewing the order within fifteen (15) days (or any longer peri- ¥ [1224]*1224od set by statute) after the order is served on the petitioner.

Ind.Code § 4-21.5-3-29(d) (19983) (emphasis added). There is no doubt that this fifteen day requirement is jurisdictional. Claywell v. Review Board, 643 N.E.2d 330 (Ind.1994). Rather, the issue with which we are faced is whether the statute permits an administrative agency to extend or continue the fifteen day requirement. In the case before us, the Court of Appeals held that the Indiana Education Employment Relations Board (IEERB) had no authority to grant an extension of the fifteen day deadline. Charles 4. Beard Classroom Teachers Assoc., v. Board of School Trustees of Charles A. Beard Memorial School Corp., 646 N.E.2d 988, 994 (Ind.Ct.App.1995). But in another recent case, the Court of Appeals held that the Indiana Civil Rights Commission (ICRC) abused its discretion by not granting an extension of the fifteen day deadline. Indiana Civil Rights Commission v. Delaware County Circuit Court, 642 N.E.2d 541, 545 (Ind.Ct.App.1994), vacated, 668 N.E.2d 1219 (Ind.1996).

The procedural and factual backgrounds of Charles A. Beard and Indiana Civil Rights Commission are set forth in the Court of Appeals' opinions below. For purposes of this opinion, it is sufficient to note that in Charles A. Beard, the ALJ ruled adversely to the teachers union on an unfair labor practice complaint. In response, the union timely sought and received a continuance of the fifteen day deadline from the IEERB in compliance with the board's regulations. The board reversed the ALJ and ruled in the union's favor on the merits. The trial court, however, found that the fifteen day restriction was a jurisdictional limitation on the IEERB, which the IEERB could not extend. As such, the IEERB could only affirm the decision of the ALJ. The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court, also concluding that the statute did not permit any extensions of the fifteen day deadline, and because the union had not objected within the statutory time limit, the IEERB was without jurisdiction to hear the appeal. Charles A. Beard, 646 N.E.2d at 995.

In Indiana Civil Rights Commission, the ALJ rendered a decision adverse to the Delaware Cireuit Court on a civil rights claim relating to the alleged discharge of a juvenile detention center employee on the basis of disability. Both the respondent court and the employee sought and received one continuance of the fifteen day deadline and then, one business day before the original continuance was to run out, the respondent court sought a second continuance. The ICRC denied the continuance, effectively affirming the ALJ's decision since no appeal from it was timely filed. The trial court held the ICRC abused its discretion in denying the second continuance, reviewed the papers that would have been filed had the continuance been granted, and held in favor of the defendant. The Court of Appeals affirmed. Indiana Civil Rights Commission, 642 N.E.2d at 548.

II

In Charles A. Beard, it is undisputed that the Teachers Association failed to file its objections within the statutory fifteen day time limit, as the IEERB had granted it an extension of time. What is disputed, however, is whether the IEERB had the authority to grant that extension of time in the first place.

In commencing our analysis, we review several administrative law principles that are relevant here. First, "Ht is elementary that the authority of the State to engage in administrative action is limited to that which is granted it by statute...." Indiana Board of Public Welfare v. Tioga Pines, 622 N.E.2d 935, 939 (Ind.1993), cert. denied 510 U.S. 1195, 114 S.Ct. 1302, 127 L.Ed.2d 654 (1994). Therefore, an agency may not adopt rules or regulations that are outside the scope of its power conferred by the legislature. See Berry v. Peoples Broadcasting Corp., 547 N.E.2d 231, 234 (Ind.1989). Second, when reviewing administrative regulations, "court[s] must consider whether the rule lies within the seope of the authority conferred, whether the regulation is consistent with and reasonably necessary to carry out the purposes of the statute, and whether the rule is reasonable." Board of Reg. for [1225]*1225Land Surveyors v. Bender, 626 N.E.2d 491, 495 (Ind.Ct.App.1993). Also, when reviewing administrative regulations, "courts exercise a greater degree of self-restraint ... as the process [administrative rulemaking] may involve a generally applicable interpretation of the basic public purpose of the governing statute, and it is not desirable to unduly restrict the freedom of the agency to do that." Tioga Pines, 622 N.E.2d at 939. Finally, we take note of another established administrative law principle that is relevant in our analysis: agencies have implicit powers to regulate to effectuate their respective regulatory schemes outlined by statute. See Barco Beverage Corp. v. Indiana Alcoholic Beverage Comm., 595 N.E.2d 250, 254 (Ind.1992); and Northern Ind. Public Service Co. v. Citizens Action Coalition, 548 N.E.2d 153, 158 (Ind.1989); see also Charles H. Koch Jr., Administrative Law and Practice § 1.4 (1985) (An "agency's rules of practice and procedure are the dominant source for internal procedures of that agency").

We now apply the law, as set forth above, to the facts of this case.

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668 N.E.2d 1222, 1996 Ind. LEXIS 110, 1996 WL 439261, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/charles-a-beard-classroom-teachers-assn-v-board-of-school-trustees-ind-1996.