Lorenzo v. Workforce Appeals Board

2002 UT App 371, 58 P.3d 873, 460 Utah Adv. Rep. 19, 2002 Utah App. LEXIS 109, 2002 WL 31477778
CourtCourt of Appeals of Utah
DecidedNovember 7, 2002
DocketNo. 20020084-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 2002 UT App 371 (Lorenzo v. Workforce Appeals Board) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Utah primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lorenzo v. Workforce Appeals Board, 2002 UT App 371, 58 P.3d 873, 460 Utah Adv. Rep. 19, 2002 Utah App. LEXIS 109, 2002 WL 31477778 (Utah Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

OPINION

BILLINGS, Associate Presiding Judge:

¶ 1 Petitioner Marcos Lorenzo appeals from a Workforce Appeals Board (the Board) decision affirming the Department of Work Force Services’ (the Department) assessment of a civil penalty against him for unemployment insurance fraud. We reverse.

BACKGROUND

¶ 2 On January 29, 1999, Petitioner filed a claim for unemployment insurance benefits. Petitioner was working part-time. The Department determined Petitioner was eligible for benefits, effective January 24, 1999, and awarded Petitioner a weekly benefit of $297. Thereafter, Petitioner reported earnings each week until August 14, 1999. Based on Petitioner’s reports, the Department paid weekly benefits to Petitioner.

¶ 3 On January 17, 2000, the Department requested earnings information from Petitioner’s employers. On February 28, 2000, the Department received earnings reports from these employers. The reports indicated that Petitioner had earned more each week than he had reported to the Department.

¶ 4 Based on the reports, and after further investigation, the Department determined that Petitioner failed to accurately report earnings and therefore knowingly withheld information to receive benefits to which he was not entitled in violation of the Employment Security Act. See Utah Code Ann. § 35A-4-101 to -508 (2001). On July 13, 2001, the Department issued a Decision of Eligibility for Unemployment Insurance Benefits and Notice of Overpayment (the notice). The notice provided that based upon his actual earnings, Petitioner was ineligible for benefits for the weeks between January 24, 1999 and August 14, 1999. Pursuant to the Employment Security Act, the Department assessed an “overpayment” of $5,893, for the benefits Petitioner actually received, and a civil penalty of $5,893, for the amount of benefits Petitioner received as a direct-result of his fraud. The Department also disqualified Petitioner from receiving benefits for forty-nine additional weeks.1

¶5 Petitioner appealed the Department’s decision to the Department’s appeals section. At a hearing before the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), Petitioner moved to dismiss the civil penalty, contending the Department failed to seek the penalty within the one-year statute of limitation for an action upon a statute for a penalty to the state. See Utah Code Ann. § 78-12-29(3) (Supp.2002). Thereafter, the ALJ denied Petitioner’s motion to dismiss.

¶ 6 Petitioner appealed the ALJ’s decision to the Board, again, contending the Department failed to bring an action for the civil penalty within the statute of limitation in Utah Code Ann. § 78-12-29(3) and contending the ALJ erred in determining the Employment Security Act provided a different limitation for the penalty assessment. The Board affirmed the ALJ’s decision and Petitioner filed this petition for review.

ISSUES AND STANDARDS OF REVIEW

¶ 7 Petitioner argues the Board erred in concluding that section 78-12-29(3) [875]*875does not bar the assessment of a civil penalty and in concluding that the Employment Security Act grants the Department continuous jurisdiction to assess the civil penalty. “The standard we apply when an agency interprets ... [a] non-agency specific legislative aet[ ] is ... ‘a correction of error standard, giving no deference to the agency’s decision.’ ” King v. Industrial Comm’n of Utah, 850 P.2d 1281, 1285 (Utah Ct.App.1993) (citation omitted). Further, because we must interpret the interplay among sections of the Employment Security Act and the relevant sections do not grant the Board discretion to decide whether the act provides a different statute of limitation governing the penalty assessment, we review the Board’s conclusion for correctness. See Burgess v. Siaperas Sand & Gravel, 965 P.2d 583, 585 (Utah Ct.App.1998).

ANALYSIS

¶ 8 Petitioner maintains the general statute of limitation for an action upon a statute for a penalty to the state in section 78-12-29(3) bars the Department’s assessment of the civil penalty in this case. Section 78-12-29(3) provides, “An action may be brought within one year: ... (3) upon a statute ... for a forfeiture or penalty to the state.”

¶ 9 Both parties agree the Department’s cause of action accrued when Petitioner misrepresented his weekly earnings in 1999. See Utah Code Ann. § 35A-ri^405(5) (providing that claimant is ineligible for benefits each week claimant willfully makes false statement to obtain benefits and providing for repayment of benefits actually received and civil penalty in amount claimant received by direct reason of fraud). The parties also agree the statute of limitation was tolled by the discovery rule until February 28, 2000, when the Department received the earnings reports from Petitioner’s employers indicating Petitioner misrepresented his earnings. The Department did not commence an action until at least July 13, 2001, when it issued the notice of overpayment, which was beyond the one-year statute of limitation for an action upon a statute for a penalty to the state. See Utah Code Ann. § 78-12-29(3). Thus, we agree with Petitioner that section 78-12-29(3) bars the penalty assessment unless the Employment Security Act provides a different statute of limitation.

¶ 10 The Board concluded that section 35A-4-^406 of the Employment Security Act provides a different statute of limitation “through a grant of continuous jurisdiction” to assess civil penalties for unemployment fraud. In relevant part, section 35A-4-406 provides:

Claims for benefits — Continuing jurisdiction — Appeal—Notice of decision — Repayment of benefits fraudulently received.
(1) (a) Claims for benefits shall be made and shall be determined by the division or referred to an administrative law judge in accordance with rules adopted by the department.
(2) (a) Jurisdiction over benefits shall be continuous.
(b) Upon its own initiative or upon application of any party affected, the division may on the basis of change in conditions or because of a mistake as to facts, review a decision allowing or disallowing in whole or in part a claim for benefits.
(c) The review shall be conducted in accordance with rules adopted by the department and may result in a new decision that may award, terminate, continue, increase, or decrease benefits, or may result in a referral of the claim to an appeal tribunal.
(f) A review may not be made after one year from the date of the original determination, except in cases of fraud or claimant fault as provided in Subsection (4).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2002 UT App 371, 58 P.3d 873, 460 Utah Adv. Rep. 19, 2002 Utah App. LEXIS 109, 2002 WL 31477778, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lorenzo-v-workforce-appeals-board-utahctapp-2002.