Pouncil v. Kansas Employment Security Board of Review

997 P.2d 715, 268 Kan. 470, 2000 Kan. LEXIS 17
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedFebruary 4, 2000
Docket78,601
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 997 P.2d 715 (Pouncil v. Kansas Employment Security Board of Review) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pouncil v. Kansas Employment Security Board of Review, 997 P.2d 715, 268 Kan. 470, 2000 Kan. LEXIS 17 (kan 2000).

Opinions

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Six, J.:

This case concerns a denial of unemployment compensation benefits. A divided Court of Appeals reversed the district court’s award of unemployment benefits to Tamatha Pouncil and reinstated the Kansas Employment Security Board of Review’s (Board) denial of benefits. The Court of Appeals held Pouncil’s failure to disclose a prior, material work-related injury on employment forms constitutes “misconduct” under K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 44-706(b)(1). 25 Kan. App. 2d 740. We granted Pouncil’s petition for review. Examining the meaning of misconduct in K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 44-706(b)(1) is an issue of first impression. The statute was amended in 1995 to relax the standard for finding employee mis[472]*472conduct. See SB 106 Bill Summary, Minutes of the House Committee on Business, Commerce & Labor, March 20, 1995.

The three questions for resolution are whether: (1) the failure to disclose a prior, material, work-related injury on Pouncil’s employment forms is misconduct under K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 44-706(b)(1); (2) Pouncil provided material, false information to her employer; and (3) the employment forms violate the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. (1994).

The answer to questions one and two is, “yes.” The answer to question three is, “no.”

FACTS

Grede Foundries, Inc. (Grede) hired Pouncil as a janitor in July 1995. She began work 3 days later. After the offer of employment, Grede asked Pouncil to fill out two employment questionnaires relating to medical history. The first was a “Health and Medical Record” (HMR). The second was a “Medical and Noise History Questionnaire” (MNHQ).

The first question on the HMR asked: “Have you ever been in a hospital or institution for observation, diagnosis, operation, or treatment?” Pouncil checked a blank labeled “yes.” She explained that she had an “amputation of left tip of index finger.” The other two HMR questions important to our discussion were: “Have you ever sustained a serious injury or illness where hospitalization was not required?” and “Have you ever filed a compensation claim or received benefits as a result of an industrial injury or disease?”

Pouncil answered “no” to both questions. At the end of the HMR, she signed under the following statement: “I hereby state that the information given by me on this physical exam is true and complete to the best of my knowledge. I also understand that any false information given by me is grounds for discharge, now or later.”

Although the record is limited, it does touch on Pouncifs employment history. Eleven years before she took her position at Grede, Pouncil worked at Microphoto Data (Microphoto). While working for Microphoto, Pouncil sustained a partial amputation of her left index finger. She did not say how long she worked for [473]*473Microphoto. After Microphoto, she apparently worked for “LSI,” also referred to as “Avery Dennison.” The injuries in question here occurred during her employment at LSI. She also worked for 5 months in a Sears Telemarketing office. Pouncil said she had no problems with her wrist while working in the telemarketing office. The date of the telemarketing employment is unclear. When the telemarketing office closed, Pouncil assumed the role of housewife. Her job at Grede followed.

Pouncil had 1 week of orientation at Grede before beginning her assigned duties. After 1 week of janitorial work, she claimed a work-related injury to her wrist (carpal tunnel syndrome). She complained of swelling and tingling in her right wrist and fingers. An administrative law judge (ALJ) held a prehminary workers compensation hearing on November 16, 1995. At the hearing, Pouncil contradicted her HMR answers. She said she received workers compensation for the partial amputation of her finger but had never sustained any other work injuries. She also said she had never before had a doctor look at her wrist nor had she received any other workers compensation benefits.

Grede terminated Pouncil on March 13, 1996. Grede’s Human Resources Director, Terry Duckworth, told Pouncil that her answers on the HMR and her testimony at the prehminary hearing were contradictory. Pouncil filed for unemployment compensation. A Kansas Department of Human Resources (KDHR) examiner found that Pouncil was terminated “for conduct or an attitude,” not for misconduct or breach of a duty to Grede. Consequently, the examiner ruled that she was eligible for unemployment compensation. Grede appealed to the KDHR.

The KDHR Referee and the Review Board

The KDHR referee held a full evidentiary hearing. Grede was represented by counsel; Pouncil was not. Grede put on new evidence that Pouncil had injured her right wrist and hand between late 1993 and early 1994 and had received workers compensation for that injury. Duckworth testified he received this information before terminating Pouncifs employment and it, combined with [474]*474her answers on the questionnaire, formed the basis for her dismissal.

Grede presented medical records from a clinic concerning Pouncil’s previous hand and wrist injury. During her testimony before the referee, Pouncil verified that she sustained an injury while working at LSI. A metal rack fell on her right hand, causing a contusion. The clinic treated Pouncil for this injury. Upon a repeat visit, the physician also diagnosed Pouncil with tendonitis in her right wrist. Pouncil had work restrictions because of the injury. She wore a splint on her right hand and was restricted from any work that required “gripping, squeezing, tugging, pulling, [or] pushing” with her right hand. Pouncil also told the referee that an earlier employer had filed a workers compensation claim for her previous injury. The reason she gave for the employer fifing is that the accident was seen by others and the injury was uncontroverted.

The referee asked Pouncil about her failure to disclose the previous work injury and related workers compensation claim. Pouncil responded, “I wasn’t thinking,” and “I honestly wasn’t thinking.” During cross-examination, she stated, “I didn’t think about that, I mean, yes I did hurt my hand but, and I did see a doctor for it. But [it’s] not as much as you guys are making it out to be.”

The referee concluded: (1) Pouncil was dishonest on the HMR, (2) it was “highly improbable that the claimant simply ‘forgot’ that she received workers compensation benefits from such a serious injury,” (3) this dishonesty constituted “misconduct,” under K.S.A. 44-706(b)(1), (4) Pouncil was ineligible for unemployment benefits, and (5) the examiner’s decision should be reversed. The referee entered a nunc pro tunc order requiring Pouncil to repay any unemployment benefits she may have received.

Pouncil appealed to the Board. Without further hearings, the Board adopted the referee’s decision and affirmed the denial of benefits.

The District Court’s Decision

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Pouncil v. Kansas Employment Security Board of Review
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Bluebook (online)
997 P.2d 715, 268 Kan. 470, 2000 Kan. LEXIS 17, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pouncil-v-kansas-employment-security-board-of-review-kan-2000.