Magee v. Mississippi Department of Employment Security

77 So. 3d 1159, 2012 Miss. App. LEXIS 28, 2012 WL 119608
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedJanuary 17, 2012
DocketNo. 2010-CC-01313-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 77 So. 3d 1159 (Magee v. Mississippi Department of Employment Security) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Magee v. Mississippi Department of Employment Security, 77 So. 3d 1159, 2012 Miss. App. LEXIS 28, 2012 WL 119608 (Mich. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

ROBERTS, J.,

for the Court:

¶ 1. This appeal stems from the Mississippi Department of Employment Security’s (MDES) denial of Jimmy Magee’s unemployment benefits. Magee was discharged by Central Transport, Incorporated (CTI) for exceeding the allowed number of “chargeable” accidents in an one-year period. Magee applied for unemployment benefits, but his claim was denied. He appealed this denial to an administrative law judge (ALJ). The ALJ affirmed the MDES decision; Ma-gee then appealed to the MDES Board of Review (Board). The Board also affirmed the ALJ’s decision and adopted the ALJ’s findings of fact and conclusions of law. Magee next appealed the Board’s decision to the Rankin County Circuit Court. The circuit court affirmed the Board’s decision and denied Magee’s subsequent motion to reconsider. Feeling aggrieved, Magee now appeals.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 2. Magee began working for CTI on February 5, 2007, and continued working for it until October 21, 2008, when he was terminated for exceeding the number of allowed “chargeable” accidents in a one-year period. Magee’s first accident occurred on April 4, 2008, when he was making a right turn and hit the vehicle beside him. The second accident occurred on April 12, 2008, when Magee hit a parked vehicle while he was driving in reverse to pull away from a loading dock. Magee’s third accident occurred on September 9, 2008, when, while he was turning, his vehicle scratched another vehicle in another lane. Finally, Magee’s last accident occurred on October 21, 2008, and involved damage to a dolly and his vehicle’s fender after he hit the dolly while driving. After each accident, Magee received a written warning from CTI. He was placed on probation after the September 9, 2008 accident. Based on these accidents, CTI terminated Magee’s employment with the company after the October 21, 2008 accident citing the company’s accident policy.

¶ 3. Upon his termination from CTI, Ma-gee filed for unemployment benefits with MDES. After an investigation, MDES denied Magee’s request on January 28, 2009. Magee appealed this denial, and a telephonic hearing was held with Magee; Ted Matthews, CTI Safety Director; and an ALJ on April 6, 2009. Both Magee and Matthews provided testimony as to the events leading to Magee’s termination. Matthews testified that Magee was aware of the company’s policy regarding the number of accidents because: employees receive a written copy of CTI’s policy when they begin work; the policy is posted at the company facility; the policy is discussed at company meetings; and the policy was discussed with Magee at the meetings after each accident. Matthews testified the policy provides that the first [1162]*1162three minor “chargeable” accidents receive written warnings, but depending on the severity of the accident, immediate termination was possible. Matthews defined a “chargeable” accident as follows: “If the driver could have done anything within reason to have prevented these accidents and did not do so, we charge, make that determination that it’s a preventable accident at that time based upon that information.” Magee testified that he was not aware of the company’s policy and that CTI had never properly investigated any of the accidents to determine if he was actually at fault. After hearing the evidence presented, the ALJ affirmed MDES’s denial of unemployment benefits.

¶ 4. Magee appealed to the Board. On May 20, 2009, the Board adopted the ALJ’s findings of fact and conclusions of law, thereby affirming the denial of Ma-gee’s unemployment benefits. Magee then appealed the Board’s decision to the circuit court which also affirmed the denial of Magee’s unemployment benefits. Undeterred, Magee filed a motion for reconsideration, which the circuit court denied. Feeling aggrieved, Magee appeals and raises the following issues, which we recite verbatim:

I. Whether the decision of the Board of Review is supported by substantial evidence!.]
II. Whether the decision of the Board of Review is arbitrary and capricious!.]
III. Whether the decision of the Board of Review violates the appellant’s due process rights in that the ap-pellee Central Transport failed to adequately establish the existence of a company policy regarding accidents and failed to provide notice to the appellant of the finality of its decision!.]

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 5. When reviewing the circuit court’s judgment to affirm or deny the Board’s decision, this Court employs the abuse-of-discretion standard. Miss. Dep’t of Employment Sec. v. Clark, 13 So.3d 866, 870 (¶ 8) (Miss.Ct.App.2009) (quoting Howell v. Miss. Employment Sec. Comm’n, 906 So.2d 766, 769 (¶ 7) (Miss.Ct.App.2004)). “An administrative agency’s conclusions will remain undisturbed unless the agency’s order is: (1) unsupported by substantial evidence, (2) arbitrary or capricious, (3) beyond the scope or power granted to the agency, or (4) in violation of the employee’s statutory or constitutional rights.” Miss. Dep’t of Employment Sec. v. Harbin, 11 So.3d 137, 139 (¶ 5) (Miss.Ct.App. 2009) (citing Miss. Dep’t of Employment Sec. v. Good Samaritan Pers. Servs., 996 So.2d 809, 812 (¶6) (Miss.Ct.App.2008)). Thus, if the Board’s decision is supported by substantial evidence and not arbitrary and capricious, the circuit court and this Court must affirm the Board’s decision. Clark, 13 So.3d at 870 (¶ 8).

ANALYSIS

I. The Board’s Decision

¶ 6. For efficiency purposes, we will combine the analysis of Magee’s first two issues. Magee first argues that the Board’s decision was not supported by substantial evidence and was arbitrary and capricious. He provides four reasons to support his contention: the alleged accidents were not thoroughly investigated; there was insufficient evidence of CTI’s accident policy and insufficient evidence to show Magee was aware of the policy; there was insufficient notice that Magee’s conduct was prohibited and could lead to termination; and Magee did not engage in wilful misconduct.

[1163]*1163¶ 7. The Mississippi Supreme Court defined “arbitrary as ‘not done according to reason or judgment, but depending on the will alone.’” Wright v. Pub. Employees Ret. Sys., 24 So.Sd 382, 388 (¶ 29) (Miss. Ct.App.2009) (citing Pub. Employees Ret. Sys. v. Marquez, 774 So.2d 421, 429 (¶ 34) (Miss.2000)). Additionally, “[cjapricious means ‘done without reason, in a whimsical manner, implying either a lack of understanding of or a disregard for the surrounding facts and settled controlling principles.’ ” Id. “If an administrative agency’s decision is not based on substantial evidence, it necessarily follows that the decision is arbitrary and capricious.” Id. (quoting Marquez, 774 So.2d at 430 (¶35)).

¶ 8. Magee was terminated for “wilful and wanton repeated violations of [CTI] ’s accident prevention policy.” “Misconduct” in unemployment-benefits cases has been defined by the supreme court to mean “conduct evincing such willful and wanton disregard of the employer’s interest as is found in deliberate violations or disregard of standards of behavior which the employer has the right to expect from his employee.” Wheeler v. Arriola, 408 So.2d 1381, 1383 (Miss.1982). Relying on the supreme court’s decision in Wheeler,

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77 So. 3d 1159, 2012 Miss. App. LEXIS 28, 2012 WL 119608, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/magee-v-mississippi-department-of-employment-security-missctapp-2012.