East v. Pryor

89 F.R.D. 75, 1981 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10407
District Court, E.D. Arkansas·Decided January 20, 1981·No. No. LR-C-77-346·Published

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

WOODS, District Judge.

STATEMENT

Plaintiff Ruth East brought this action on December 2, 1977 based on alleged violations of 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981, 1983 and 1988 and the due process and equal protection provisions of the United States Constitution. The complaint requested a declaratory judgment pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201, 2202, 1361 and Fed.R.Civ.P. 57. Although plaintiff filed the lawsuit on behalf of herself and a “Class of Citizens Seeking Unemployment Compensation”, such class has never been certified. Indeed, the plaintiff Ruth East has not moved for class certification as provided by the general orders of this court or by the specific order issued in the instant litigation (see Letter/Order dated March 26, 1980).

[76] Plaintiff Ruth East was initially denied unemployment compensation after a determination that she had been discharged from the Pulaski County Health Department for willful misconduct on March 20, 1977. Her alleged willful misconduct consisted of her refusal to type a letter as directed by her employer, Dr. Gordon Oates, the Pulaski County Health Officer. Plaintiff sought and obtained a hearing before the Chief Appeals Referee on September 22, 1977, at which time he upheld the Agency determination. Plaintiff appealed the Referee’s decision to the Board of Review. While the appeal was pending, she filed the above-mentioned Federal complaint. On January 31, 1978 the Board of Review reversed the Referee’s decision that plaintiff had been guilty of willful misconduct and awarded her benefits. The decision of the Board of Review is attached hereto as Exhibit “A”.

THE APPLICABLE STATUTES

To be eligible for benefits, a claimant must file a claim with a local office of the Employment Security Division as prescribed in Ark.Stat.Ann. § 81-1105 (Repl.Vol.1976). If dissatisfied with the determination of the local office, claimant has a right within fifteen days to appeal to the Appeals Tribunal and obtain a full evidentiary hearing before a referee. Ark.Stat.Ann. § 81-1107(d)(2) (Repl.Vol.1976).

If dissatisfied with the decision of the Appeals Tribunal, the claimant may then appeal to the Board of Review. Ark.Stat. Ann. § 81-1107(d)(3) (Repl.Vol.1976). The Board of Review is composed of three members, one of whom represents employees (in Arkansas this member has historically been closely affiliated with organized labor), and one represents employers. The third member is the Chairman and pursuant to Statute is “a person who, because of his vocation, occupation or affiliation may be deemed not to be representative of employers or employees.” Ark.Stat.Ann. § 81-1107(d)(1) (Repl.Vol.1976). (This individual has generally been a lawyer). At the time period relevant herein, claimant had a right of appeal to Circuit Court from the Board of Review. Ark.Stat.Ann. § 81-1107(d)(7) (Repl.Vol.1976). In the event of an adverse decision, claimant could appeal directly from Circuit Court to the Supreme Court of Arkansas. Ark.Stat.Ann. § 81-1107(d)(7) (Repl.Vol.1976). Now an appeal in an unemployment case goes directly from the Board of Review to the Arkansas Court of Appeals, an intermediate appellate court established by Arkansas in the 1978 general election. Ark.Stat.Ann. § 81-1107(d)(7) (Repl.Vol.1976 as amended in 1979). One of the principal reasons for this change was to permit unemployment compensation claimants and worker’s compensation claimants to obtain a quick review of their cases. A claimant can obtain review by certiorari to the Supreme Court of Arkansas and thence by certiorari even to the Supreme Court of the United States.

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East v. Pryor, 89 F.R.D. 75, 1981 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10407 (E.D. Ark. 1981).

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