Horne v. Idaho State University

69 P.3d 120, 138 Idaho 700, 2003 Ida. LEXIS 70
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedApril 24, 2003
Docket28502
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 69 P.3d 120 (Horne v. Idaho State University) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Horne v. Idaho State University, 69 P.3d 120, 138 Idaho 700, 2003 Ida. LEXIS 70 (Idaho 2003).

Opinion

EISMANN, Justice.

Eugenia Horne (Ms. Horne) was dismissed from her employment as a senior accountant with Idaho State University (University). She appealed to the Idaho Personnel Commission, which affirmed her dismissal. She sought judicial review in the district court, which affirmed the order of the Personnel Commission. She now appeals to this Court, and we affirm the order of the Personnel Commission.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Ms. Horne was employed by the University as a senior accountant from 1993 until she was terminated on March 2, 2000. During her first five years, Ms. Horne’s supervisor gave her satisfactory annual performance evaluations, with suggestions for improvement. In June 1998, Steve Peterson became Ms. Horne’s supervisor. On April 26, 1999, he prepared an annual performance evaluation for Ms. Home covering the one-year period ending April 18, 1999. He gave Ms. Horne a satisfactory rating, but indicated that the quality of her work was unreliable and that she had difficulty meeting deadlines. He further noted that her oral communication skills were poor and that she was unwilling to discuss projects and to ask questions regarding her work. He planned to meet with her on a periodic basis to discuss assignment, completion dates, anticipated problems, and other issues. Ms. Home became veiy upset with the performance evaluation and submitted a written response to it.

*702 Mr. Peterson met with Ms. Horne on April 30, 1999. During that meeting, she became upset, slammed a pad of paper down on Mr. Peterson’s desk, and abruptly left the meeting despite Mr. Peterson’s directives to the contrary. Ms. Horne later contended that Mr. Peterson was intimidating during the meeting, putting his hands on the table and looming over her. She admitted becoming angry and walking out of the meeting, but offered as a justification that because she was supposed to receive a five-year employee certificate, was studying for her certified public accountant examination, and Mr. Peterson refused to reschedule the meeting. Because of her conduct at the meeting, Mr. Peterson sent Ms. Home a letter dated May 3, 1999, in which he advised her that her refusal to accept a reasonable and proper assignment from an authorized supervisor and insubordination constituted conduct unbecoming a state employee, or conduct detrimental to good order and discipline in the department, and that such conduct was prohibited by the Faculty/Staff Handbook. Mr. Peterson resigned his position in June 1999, and was later replaced by Roger Egan.

In late June 1999, Ken Prolo became Vice President for Financial Services. He was also the Director of Human Resources until the summer of 2000. On August 11, 1999, Ms. Horne fell or passed out while going up a stairway at the University. She suffered injuries to her face and was transported to the hospital. Mr. Prolo accompanied her, and advised the medical staff of a previous incident in January 1999 when Ms. Home fainted while at work. The treating physician, Dr. Woodhouse, reported Ms. Horne’s condition to the Idaho Department of Transportation. It sent a notice to Ms. Horne informing her that for medical reasons her driving privileges were suspended for one year beginning on August 30,1999. On that same date she went on indefinite medical leave because of her fall. Ms. Horne timely appealed the suspension of her driving privileges, and her appeal was heard by telephone conference on September 15, 1999. It was denied by written order issued the following day.

Infuriated by the suspension of her driving privileges, on September 15,1999, Ms. Horne telephoned from her mother’s house in Nam-pa, Idaho, to the Family Practice Residency Clinic on campus, where Dr. Woodhouse worked. During that telephone call, Ms. Horne stated, “You people are driving me crazy. I don’t know when I’m going to hit the point where I take everybody out with me.” At the conclusion of that call, Ms. Horne slammed down the telephone, breaking it. Clinic personnel reported the telephone call to campus security. It then contacted the Nampa Police Department, who then went to the home of Ms. Horne’s mother to assure Ms. Horne’s safety.

Mr. Prolo attempted to schedule a meeting with Ms. Horne in either Nampa or Boise to discuss her telephone call to the Clinic and to obtain her side of the story regarding the call. Ms. Home refused to meet with him. As a result, Mr. Prolo sent Ms. Horne a letter dated September 17, 1999, notifying her that she was currently denied access to the University campus and the Clinic.

Ms. Home returned to work on December 13, 1999. On January 24, 2000, she telephoned the Department of Transportation from her office at the University in an attempt to have her driving privileges reinstated. During that telephone call, she became very loud and angry. The anger and tone of her conversation frightened several people in other parts of the building. On January 31, 2000, Ms. Horne’s supervisor Mr. Egan and Donna Hilliard, the Associate Director of Human Resources, met with Ms. Home to discuss her anger during that telephone call. During that meeting, Mr. Egan told Ms. Horne that she had frightened other employees and he reminded her that the Faculty/Staff Handbook allowed for disciplinary action for insubordination, for conduct unbecoming a state employee, and for conduct detrimental to the good order and discipline of the Department. Mr. Egan also admonished her that this was her second warning and that further similar behavior would result in her dismissal.

On February 1, 2000, Mr. Prolo asked his secretary to schedule a meeting with Ms. Horne at his office in Boise to discuss her *703 angry outbursts and employees’ concerns. When the secretary contacted Ms. Horne, she became angry and demanded to be told the purpose for the meeting. The secretary responded that she did not know. About ten minutes later, Ms. Horne angrily stormed into the Financial Services office, again demanding to know what the meeting was about and demanding to speak immediately with Mr. Prolo. Her conduct frightened Mr. Prolo’s secretary. Ms. Horne then stormed out of the office and went to the Office of Human Resources and the President’s office, where she also raised a commotion.

On February 2, 2000, Ms. Horne filed a grievance contending that she was being treated with bias and discrimination. On February 3, 2000, Mr. Prolo held a grievance meeting with Ms. Horne and Ms. Hilliard. Ms. Horne’s father was also present. Ms. Horne expressed her feelings that the University had destroyed her driving record, her medical records, her credit rating, and her employment record.

On February 10,2000, Mr. Prolo again met with Ms. Home and Ms. Hilliard, with Ms. Horne’s mother also attended the meeting. The meeting accomplished very little. Ms. Horne refused to answer direct questions about the incidents, but instead was threatening, raising her voice, slamming her hands on the table, and raising a book over her head. Those present could not calm Ms. Horne. She then met with Mr. Egan and Ms. Hilliard. She was still angry and upset, and that meeting lasted only a few minutes. Ms. Home was shouting and slammed the door as she left. Mr. Egan recommended that Ms. Home be dismissed with cause. She was then sent home on paid administrative leave pending further notice.

By letter dated February 11, 2000, Mr. Prolo notified Ms.

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Bluebook (online)
69 P.3d 120, 138 Idaho 700, 2003 Ida. LEXIS 70, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/horne-v-idaho-state-university-idaho-2003.