Gibbs v. United State Army

116 A.3d 427, 2014 WL 7474233, 2014 Del. Super. LEXIS 670
CourtSuperior Court of Delaware
DecidedDecember 23, 2014
DocketC.A. No. K14A-06-007 WLW
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 116 A.3d 427 (Gibbs v. United State Army) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gibbs v. United State Army, 116 A.3d 427, 2014 WL 7474233, 2014 Del. Super. LEXIS 670 (Del. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

OPINION

WITHAM, R.J.

INTRODUCTION

Before the Court is the pro se appeal of Appellant Nicholas Gibbs (hereinafter “Appellant”) from the decision of the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board (hereinafter “the Board” or “the UIAB”) denying Appellant’s appeal because military wages cannot be used in the determination of entitlement to unemployment benefits when an ex-servicemember has been deemed ineligible to receive such benefits. The issue of denial of unemployment benefits to an ex-servicemember of a military branch involves both Delaware state law and federal law, and is an issue novel to Delaware. For this reason, this Court has decided the matter requires a more extensive review.

BACKGROUND

On January 11, 2013, the Appellant was discharged from the Army under “other than honorable conditions.” On January 5, 2014, the Appellant filed for unemployment benefits. The Claims Deputy made its decision on February 24, 2014, denying benefits to the Appellant because the military classified him as a person not entitled to any benefits, and therefore he may not use his military wages in the determination of any entitlement to unemployment insurance benefits. Appellant timely appealed.

On March 27, 2014, the Appeals Referee conducted a hearing with both the Appellant and the Division of Unemployment Insurance, as well as a representative for the Army. The Appellant testified that he supplied the Referee with his Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, or a DD Form 214.1 The history stated that the Appellant separated from the Army on January 11, 2013, his character of service was under “other than honorable conditions,” and the narrative for separation was “in lieu of trial by court-martial.” On February 13, 2014 Brian Hewitt, the Deputy Chief of the United States Army, advised the Division of Unemployment Insurance that the Appellant does not meet the eligibility for approval of unemployment compensation, resulting in Appellant’s pri- or wages during service being invalid for purposes of qualifying for any sort of claim.2

The Division of Unemployment Insurance representative reviewed the DD Form 214 with the Appellant during the hearing and explained that because of his classification, he is not entitled to benefits. The representative with the Department of the Army also confirmed that the information in the letter from Deputy Chief Brian Hewitt was correct in stating the Appellant’s character of service. The Appellant [430]*430then confirmed with the parties his desire to change the characterization of his discharge (presumably from “other than honorably” to “honorably”), and if successful, could he then reapply for unemployment benefits. He was told that yes, he could, but any change in his classification would need to be changed by the military branch and not the state. The Appellant also asked if the Army erred in his classification of discharge, how the wages would be decided if he were to receive them, and if he should take up his grievances with the Secretary of the Army. Appellant then began to question the parties as to whether or not there was a determination that he was “AWOL” or absent without leave. He also insinuated that his claims were never handled properly. Appellant was referred back to the United States Army for responses to such questioning.

The hearing ended with the Appellant indicating he would be making attempts to alter his discharge classification through the appropriate military branch. The Appeals Referee concurred with the Claims Deputy, stating that in the absence of a waiver based on an appeal by the Appellant to the Army, the Department of Labor is bound by the findings of the military, and thus denied Appellant’s appeal. Appellant accordingly appealed. The UIAB affirmed the Appeals Referee on April 21, 2014. It determined that the Appeals Referee made no error in its decision and adopted its decision as its own. Appellant timely appealed.

In each appeal, the Delaware Department of Labor failed to specify the correct statute to which it based its decision on, and instead cited only to a federal statute that described how a “Federal Service Member” is defined.3 In reaching its conclusion, the Board did not cite a comparable Delaware statute to aid in its determination. This Court will provide Delaware statutory law, as well as federal statutory and regulatory provisions regarding unemployment compensation.

Further, because the Delaware court system has not seen such a case, this Court will refer to the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, as it has handled such matters in the past.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

When this Court reviews a procedural decision of the UIAB — which is a discretionary decision, as opposed to a factual decision that would trigger substantial evidence review-the Court must determine whether the UIAB abused its discretion in rendering its decision.4 There is no abuse of discretion unless the Board based its procedural decision “on clearly unreasonable or capricious grounds” or the Board “exceeds the bounds of reason in view of the circumstances and had ignored recognized rules of law or practices so as to produce injustice.”5 If there is no abuse of discretion, the Court must affirm the Board’s decision if the Board did not otherwise commit an error of law.6

However, because the Board failed to identify the basis, for its determination under Delaware law, this Court will analyze [431]*431it accordingly under 19 Del. C. § 3314(2) and 5 U.S.C. § 8521(a).7

DISCUSSION

Under federal law, the unemployment compensation authorities of states are empowered to act as agents of the federal government in extending benefits to covered federal employees.8 Someone who has been discharged from the Armed Services may receive unemployment compensation if they were discharged under honorable conditions.9 The only issue that was before the Board throughout this appeals process was the denial of Appellant’s benefits due to his classification of discharge from the military. Appellant was “other than honorably discharged.” When a service member is discharged from the military for “other than honorable” conditions and the reason was for “separation in lieu of trial by court martial,”10 it would appear that the relationship was severed with just cause.11

Pursuant to 19 Del. C. § 3314(2), an employee who is terminated for “just cause” shall be disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits.12 “Just cause” refers to a “wilful [sic] or wanton act in violation of either the employer’s interest, or of the employee’s duties, or of the employee’s expected standard of conduct.”13 When an employee is insubordinate, this is just cause for termination.14 Discharge of employment due to insubordination constitutes as just cause if the employee wilfully refuses to follow the reasonable instruction of the employer.15 “Just cause” as a reason for an employee’s termination renders one ineligible for unemployment benefits under Delaware statutory law.

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Bluebook (online)
116 A.3d 427, 2014 WL 7474233, 2014 Del. Super. LEXIS 670, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gibbs-v-united-state-army-delsuperct-2014.