Robbins v. Arizona Department of Economic Security

300 P.3d 556, 232 Ariz. 21, 660 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 32, 2013 WL 1890620, 2013 Ariz. App. LEXIS 89
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedMay 7, 2013
DocketNos. 1 CA-UB 12-0089, 1 CA-UB 12-0090
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 300 P.3d 556 (Robbins v. Arizona Department of Economic Security) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Robbins v. Arizona Department of Economic Security, 300 P.3d 556, 232 Ariz. 21, 660 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 32, 2013 WL 1890620, 2013 Ariz. App. LEXIS 89 (Ark. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION

DOWNIE, Judge.

¶ 1 This appeal requires us to interpret Arizona Revised Statute (“A.R.S.”) section 23-751.01, which defines “[e]mployment by an Indian tribe” in the context of unemployment insurance. We conclude that wages earned as a member of a tribal legislative body are not qualifying wages for purposes of unemployment insurance benefits. We therefore affirm the determination that Appellant Bobby B. Robbins was ineligible for benefits and that he was overpaid benefits through no fault of his own.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 2 The Navajo Nation Council (“Council”) is the legislative body of the Navajo Nation. Navajo Nation Code title 2, § 101(A) (“There is hereby established the Legislative Branch of the Navajo Nation government. The Legislative Branch shall consist of the Navajo Nation Council and any entity established under the Navajo Nation Council.”). Comprised of 88 delegates, the Council is the “governing body of the Navajo Nation.” Id. at § 102(A).

¶ 3 Robbins served as a Council delegate for several years. After losing his bid for reelection, he applied to the Arizona Department of Economic Security (“ADES”) for unemployment insurance benefits. Robbins was initially deemed eligible for benefits and received payments totaling $2,160. It was later determined that he worked in “excluded employment” and was thus ineligible for benefits. Robbins was retroactively disqualified from benefits, and ADES issued a “non-fraud” overpayment determination in the amount of $2,160.

¶4 Robbins appealed. Evidentiary hearings were held regarding the eligibility and overpayment decisions. The ADES Appeal Tribunal concluded Robbins’ wages as a Council delegate “could not be used for unemployment insurance because he worked in an excluded employment as an elected official.” It also affirmed the overpayment determination but reclassified it from “non-fraud” to “administrative.”1

¶ 5 Robbins petitioned for review. The ADES Appeals Board (“Board”) unanimously concluded that wages for “service as a member of the legislative body of an Indian tribe [23]*23are not wages paid for employment for [unemployment insurance] purposes. Such payments are excluded by law from the definition of “wages’ paid for ‘employment.’ ” The Board also affirmed the overpayment determination. Robbins again petitioned for review, but the Board affirmed its previous rulings by majority vote. One Board member dissented, stating that his earlier decision was “an error” and concluding that Robbins’ wages as a Council delegate qualified for benefits.

¶ 6 Robbins filed a timely application for appeal, which this Court granted. We have jurisdiction pursuant to A.R.S. § 41-1993(B).

DISCUSSION

¶ 7 We are bound by the Board’s reasonable findings of fact, but we review de novo its application of the law. Rice v. Ariz. Dep’t of Econ. Sec., 183 Ariz. 199, 201, 901 P.2d 1242, 1244 (App.1995) (citations omitted). We accord deference to agencies’ interpretations of legislation they are charged with implementing. See Blake v. City of Phoenix, 157 Ariz. 93, 96, 754 P.2d 1368, 1371 (App.1998) (citing Keller v. City of Bellingham, 92 Wash.2d 726, 600 P.2d 1276, 1280 (1979)). “However, the agency’s interpretation is not infallible, and courts must remain the final authority on critical questions of statutory construction.” U.S. Parking Sys. v. City of Phoenix, 160 Ariz. 210, 211, 772 P.2d 33, 34 (App.1989).

¶ 8 “If a statute’s language is clear and unambiguous, we apply it without resorting to other methods of statutory interpretation.” Haag v. Steinle, 227 Ariz. 212, 214, ¶ 9, 255 P.3d 1016, 1018 (App.2011) (internal quotation marks omitted). “However, if more than one plausible interpretation of a statute exists, we typically employ tools of statutory construction.” Id. “We consider the statute’s context, its language, subject matter and historical background, its effects and consequences, and its spirit and purpose.” Id.

¶ 9 A claimant seeking unemployment insurance benefits must establish, among other things, that he or she “[h]as been paid wages for insured work.” A.R.S. § 23-771(A)(6)(a). To determine whether Council delegate service constitutes “insured work,” we begin with the relevant definition of “employment.” Section 23-615 defines “employment,” for unemployment insurance purposes, as “any service of whatever nature performed by an employee for the person employing him, including service in interstate commerce.” With enumerated exceptions, “employment” includes services performed “in the employ of this state, or any instrumentality, agency or board of this state.” A.R.S. § 23-615(6)(c). A statutory exception exists for services performed as a member of certain legislative bodies. A.R.S. § 23-615(6)(d)(iii)(B).

¶ 10 In 2001, the Arizona legislature enacted A.R.S. § 23-751.01, extending unemployment insurance to “service in the employment by an Indian tribe.” A.R.S. § 23-751.01(A). The statute defines “[e]mployment by an Indian tribe” as:

employment by an Indian tribe as defined in 26 United States Code § 3306(u) or by a tribal unit except that employment by an Indian tribe does not inelude the exclusions from, employment prescribed in § 23-615, paragraph 6, subdivision (d), item (iii), subitem[](B)____

A.R.S. § 23 — 751.01(I)(1) (emphasis added).

¶ 11 Resolution of this appeal turns on the meaning of the phrase: “except that employment by an Indian tribe does not include the exclusions from employment prescribed in § 23-615, paragraph 6, subdivision (d), item (iii), subitem[ ](B).” If the subparagraph (6)(d)(iii)(B) exclusion applies to tribal employment, Robbins was properly disqualified from benefits because he served as a member of a legislative body. Section 23-615(6) states, in pertinent part:

(d) For purposes of this paragraph, the term “employment” does not apply to service performed:
(iii) In the employ of a governmental entity referred to in § 23-750, subsection A, paragraph 2, if such service is performed by an individual in the exercise of his duties:
[24]*24(B) As a member of legislative body or the judiciary, of this state or a political subdivision thereof[.]

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cleckner v. Adhs
Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2018

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
300 P.3d 556, 232 Ariz. 21, 660 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 32, 2013 WL 1890620, 2013 Ariz. App. LEXIS 89, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/robbins-v-arizona-department-of-economic-security-arizctapp-2013.