Davis v. Oklahoma Employment Security Commission

1997 OK CIV APP 75, 949 P.2d 683, 68 O.B.A.J. 3963, 1997 Okla. Civ. App. LEXIS 77, 1997 WL 745741
CourtCourt of Civil Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedJuly 23, 1997
DocketNo. 87515
StatusPublished

This text of 1997 OK CIV APP 75 (Davis v. Oklahoma Employment Security Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Civil Appeals of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Davis v. Oklahoma Employment Security Commission, 1997 OK CIV APP 75, 949 P.2d 683, 68 O.B.A.J. 3963, 1997 Okla. Civ. App. LEXIS 77, 1997 WL 745741 (Okla. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinion

JOPLIN, Judge:

¶ 1 The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) seeks review of an order of the trial court reversing an order of the OESC denying unemployment benefits to Deborah E. Davis (Employee). OESC asserts that evidence appears in the record to support the OESC determination, and that the trial court consequently erred in reversing the order denying benefits, in essence, improperly substituting its judgment for that of OESC on the facts. We agree, and reverse the order of the trial court.

¶ 2 Employer terminated Employee in 1995 for violation of Employer’s policy requiring all employees to report to Employer any violation of criminal drug statutes after Employer learned Employee had pled guilty to a drug-related offense in 1992. Employee applied for unemployment benefits. The local OESC office initially denied the claim, finding Employee had been discharged for cause.

¶ 3 Employee sought review before the Appeal Tribunal. The Hearing Officer heard testimony from Employer to the effect that upon Employee’s hospitalization in 1995 for what appeared to be “a self-induced drug use reason,” Employer searched local public records, and discovered that Employee had pleaded guilty to a drug-related criminal offense in January 1992 without reporting the conviction to Employer. Testimony of Employer also showed that Employer had adopted a drug-free workplace policy in accord with the federal Drug Free Workplace Act, published that policy in the 1990 revision of the Employee Handbook, and adopted a self-reporting provision in the 1992 Handbook revision distributed “a few days” after Employee’s guilty plea in January 1992. Employer also testified that Employee “had worked directing [sic] with ... the vice-president of Human Resources back in 1991 for an admitted substance abuse problem and [685]*685was required to seek treatment for that problem at that time” under a voluntary, Employer-sponsored program.

¶ 4 Employee testified that she instructed her lawyer, at the time of her arrest for the 1992 offense, to call her supervisor (the vice-president of Human Resources) to report the incident, but that the lawyer did not apparently do so. Employee also testified that when she returned to work, she talked to her supervisor because she “realized [she] needed to go to rehab.,” that she “didn’t think about explaining why [she] didn’t come back to work” the day of her arrest, and that she “didn’t know she was supposed to let [Employer] know on a conviction” because she never read the revised Employee Handbooks given to her.

¶ 5 On consideration of the evidence, the Hearing Officer affirmed the OESC’s initial denial of the claim, finding:

The claimant was discharged. When an individual is discharged, the burden of proof rests upon the employer to show misconduct connected to the work. In the instant case, the employer has sustained that burden as there is evidence the claimant violated a known policy concerning the use of drugs.

Employee sought further review before the Board of Review, which adopted the findings of the Hearing Officer, and affirmed denial of the claim.

¶ 6 Employee then commenced an action for review by petition to the trial court. Upon consideration of the record, the trial court reversed the OESC’s order denying the claim, finding “that the record in the present case contains no evidence of when [Employee] received advice on the work rule at issue,” “that ... as a matter of law, the conclusions of the hearing officer are contrary to law and are not supported by the evidence,” and remanded the matter to the OESC with instructions to award Employee benefits. OESC appeals.

¶ 7 In its first proposition, OESC asserts that the question of disqualifying misconduct constitutes a question of fact, on which question, the OESC’s determination is conclusive if supported by the evidence, and that there appears in the record evidence, which if believed, showed that Employee violated Employer’s known drug-free workplace and self-reporting policies. 40 O.S.1991 § 2-610(1); Vester v. Board of Review of Oklahoma Employment Sec. Com’n, 1985 OK 21, 697 P.2d 533, 538; Tynes v. Uniroyal Tire Co., 1984 OK CIV APP 20, 679 P.2d 1310, 1313. In its second proposition, OESC avers that the trial, court, in derogation of the statutorily mandated deference, improperly substituted its judgment on the facts in reversing the OESC determination.

¶ 8 Employee responds, arguing that the factual determinations of the OESC are not entitled to conclusive effect unless supported by “évidenee which is substantial, that is, affords a substantial basis in fact from which the fact in issue can be reasonably inferred.” Oklahoma Employment Sec. Com’n v. Sanders, 272 P.2d 379, 381 (Okla.1954). So, says Employee, because her uncontroverted testimony showed that she never read the revisions of the Employee Handbook and consequently did not know of Employer’s drug-free workplace or self-reporting policies, Employee could not be found to have “willfully or wantonly” violated the Employer’s rules as to constitute disqualifying misconduct as that term is defined by Oklahoma law. See, Vester, 697 P.2d at 537.

¶ 9 Misconduct disqualifying a claimant from unemployment benefits has been defined as:

conduct evincing such willful or wanton disregard of an employer’s interests as is found in deliberate violations or disregard of standards of behavior which the employer has the right to expect of his employee, or in carelessness or negligence of such a degree or recurrence as to manifest equal culpability, wrongful intent or evil design, or to show an intentional and substantial disregard of the employer’s interests or of the employee’s duties and obligations to his employer. On the other hand, mere inefficiency, unsatisfactory conduct, failure in good performance as the result of inability or incapacity, inadvertencies or ordinary negligence in isolated instances, or good faith errors in judgment or discretion [686]*686are not to be deemed “misconduct” within the meaning of the statute.

Vester, 697 P.2d at 537; Tynes, 679 P.2d at 1312. In the appellate review of orders of the Employment Commission, “the findings of the Board of Review as to the facts, if supported by evidence, shall be conclusive and the jurisdiction of [the district] court shall be confined to issues of law.” 40 O.S. § 2-610(1). As elsewhere noted:

[T]he district court sits as an appeal tribunal and its jurisdiction is limited to the consideration of the transcript and the argument of the respective attorneys thereon. We have also held that in an appeal, such as was perfected herein, the district court is limited to determinations whether an error of law was committed in the hearing and whether or not the findings are supported by the evidence introduced.

In re White, 355 P.2d 404, 406 (Okla.1960); Vester, 697 P.2d at 537. Indeed, “if supported by evidence,” Oklahoma law dictates that OESC factual determinations are conclusive and impervious to change by the reviewing courts. 40 O.S. § 2-610(1).

¶ 10 In 1954, the Supreme Court construed the scope of the phrase, “if supported by evidence”:

[T]he words “if supported by evidence” [as used in § 2-610] means evidence which is substantial, that is, affords a substantial basis in fact from which the fact in issue can be reasonably inferred.

Sanders, 272 P.2d at 381.

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Related

Oklahoma Employment Security Commission v. Sanders
1954 OK 155 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1954)
In Re the Discharge of White
1960 OK 188 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1960)
Tynes v. Uniroyal Tire Co.
1984 OK CIV APP 20 (Court of Civil Appeals of Oklahoma, 1984)
Stagner v. Board of Review of Oklahoma Employment Security Commission
1990 OK CIV APP 15 (Court of Civil Appeals of Oklahoma, 1990)
R & R Engineering Co. v. Oklahoma Employment Security Commission
1987 OK 36 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1987)

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Bluebook (online)
1997 OK CIV APP 75, 949 P.2d 683, 68 O.B.A.J. 3963, 1997 Okla. Civ. App. LEXIS 77, 1997 WL 745741, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/davis-v-oklahoma-employment-security-commission-oklacivapp-1997.