MISS. EMPLOYMENT SEC. COM'N v. Hudson

757 So. 2d 1010, 2000 WL 55275
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedJanuary 25, 2000
Docket1998-CC-01524-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 757 So. 2d 1010 (MISS. EMPLOYMENT SEC. COM'N v. Hudson) 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
MISS. EMPLOYMENT SEC. COM'N v. Hudson, 757 So. 2d 1010, 2000 WL 55275 (Mich. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

757 So.2d 1010 (2000)

MISSISSIPPI EMPLOYMENT SECURITY COMMISSION and Yazoo Industries, Appellants,
v.
Gloria J. HUDSON, Appellee.

No. 1998-CC-01524-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

January 25, 2000.

*1011 John W. Garrett, Jr., Clinton, Attorney for Appellants.

Gloria J. Hudson, Appellee, pro se.

BEFORE McMILLIN, C.J., IRVING, AND THOMAS, JJ.

THOMAS, J., for the Court:

¶ 1. The Mississippi Employment Security Commission and Yazoo Industries appeal to this Court the decision of the Circuit Court of Yazoo County reversing the Mississippi Employment Security Commission's decision rendered on January 22, 1998. The Mississippi Employment Security Commission's Board of Review adopted the referee's findings of fact and opinion of December 17, 1997, denying Gloria Hudson's claim for unemployment compensation. Said decision was based on the referee's finding that Hudson is disqualified for benefits under Miss. Code Ann. § 71-5-513 A (1)(b) for misconduct connected with her work, specifically insubordination resulting from the use of vulgar obscenities directed towards her employer. The circuit court concluded that while Hudson's conduct did warrant termination, her conduct was merely an isolated incident involving the use of profanity directed towards a supervisor and not an incident tantamount to misconduct under the law. The Commission appeals *1012 this decision and raises the following assignment of error

I. ERRED IN FINDING THAT THE BOARD OF REVIEW'S DECISION WAS NOT SUPPORTED BY SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE AND THAT THERE WAS AN IMPROPER APPLICATION OF THE LAW.

¶ 2. Finding reversible error, we reverse and render.

FACTS

¶ 3. Gloria Hudson was employed by Yazoo Industries as a production line operator from August 15, 1983 to October 29, 1997. On October 29, 1997, she was terminated for insubordination when she verbally confronted her team leader and supervisor after she was given a new job assignment. Hudson maintains that her usual job station, which she had become accustom with, was less difficult than the new assignment she was being asked to perform. Hudson initially stated that she was not even going to try to keep pace with the production line since her new station was unfamiliar to her. Testimony revealed that all employees are considered "operators" and could be assigned to different production stages as needed. The team leader overheard these statements and stated to Hudson that she was going to have to try and that she would be taught the procedures involving the new assignment. Hudson's dissatisfaction with her new work station and job assignment swelled to a verbal expression of this displeasure. She used extremely vulgar and offensive profanity directed towards her team leader and supervisor during this exchange. Several variations of "mother f-r" and "godd___it" were repeatedly uttered by Hudson in addition to calling her supervisors a "bitch" and a "son of a bitch." The obscenities continued until the floor supervisor, Larry Day, intervened and brought both Hudson and the team leader into his office to determine the source of the disturbance. Hudson also directed profanities at Day during his attempts to quell the situation.

¶ 4. Both Hudson and the team leader were sent home for the rest of the day until Day could ascertain what or who caused the disturbance. His investigation revealed that Hudson was the only person who used profanity. This was confirmed by several of the employees and team leaders who witnessed the confrontation. Two production lines were briefly interrupted as employees of Yazoo Industries ceased their production to witness the disturbance. As a result of this investigation the team leader was not discharged; however, Hudson was terminated on October 29, 1997.

¶ 5. Following her termination, Hudson filed for unemployment compensation. During the claims examiner's investigation, Hudson and a human resource representative from Yazoo Industries, Judy Dunham, were interviewed via a telephone conference. During this conference Hudson admitted that she had in fact used profanity during the confrontation, but nevertheless asserted that she was provoked into cursing by her team leader. Based on the statements of both Hudson and Dunham, the claims examiner ruled that Hudson's conduct amounted to insubordination which constituted disqualifying misconduct.

¶ 6. This decision to deny Hudson unemployment benefits was based on her refusal to perform her assigned tasks and for her use of profanity directed towards her team leader and supervisor. The claim's examiner found that Hudson's action's constituted misconduct, thereby disqualifying her from receiving unemployment benefits. Hudson appealed the claims examiner's decision and a hearing was held before a Commission referee on December 15, 1997. The referee concluded that Hudson's actions did amount to insubordination and constituted misconduct in connection with her work. The claims examiner's decision was affirmed on December 17, 1997. Hudson then appealed the referee's decision to *1013 the Commission's Board of Review. Likewise, the Board of Review concluded on January 22, 1998 that Hudson's actions amounted to insubordination and constituted disqualifying misconduct as supported by the substantial evidence presented in the case. Aggrieved by the Commission's final decision, Hudson appealed to the Circuit Court of Yazoo County.

¶ 7. The circuit court reversed the Board of Review's Decision in its opinion rendered on September, 11 1998. The circuit court concluded that while substantial evidence did exist in the record to support the referee's factual findings that insubordination had occurred on the part of Hudson, such an "isolated incident in which profanity was used towards a superior is not tantamount to misconduct under the [l]aw." The circuit court ruled that the Board had not properly applied the law pertaining to misconduct to the facts as presented by the parties.

ANALYSIS

I.

WHETHER THE CIRCUIT COURT ERRED IN FINDING THAT THE BOARD OF REVIEW'S DECISION WAS NOT SUPPORTED BY SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE AND THAT THERE WAS AN IMPROPER APPLICATION OF THE LAW.

¶ 8. We note from the outset that Hudson failed to submit a brief to this Court in response to the Commission's appeal. The Mississippi Supreme Court has held that "the failure of the appellee to file a brief is tantamount to a confession of error and will be accepted as such unless we can with confidence say, after considering the record and brief of appellant, that there was no error." Mississippi Employment Sec. Comm'n v. Pennington, 724 So.2d 954, 955 (Miss.Ct.App.1998) (citing Snow Lake Shores Property Owners Corp. v. Smith, 610 So.2d 357, 360 (Miss.1992)). We could find that Hudson's failure to submit a brief to this Court is tantamount to a confession of error; however, given the application of law by the lower court to this matter, we feel the need to address the merits.

¶ 9. Our well settled standard of review requires this Court to give great deference to the findings of fact and conclusions reached by an administrative agency in effectuating its purpose:

Judicial review of an Employment Security Commission ruling is limited to determination of whether the decision is supported by substantial evidence ....

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Bluebook (online)
757 So. 2d 1010, 2000 WL 55275, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/miss-employment-sec-comn-v-hudson-missctapp-2000.