Southwood Door Co. v. Burton

847 So. 2d 833, 20 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 18, 2003 Miss. LEXIS 276, 2003 WL 21284518
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedJune 5, 2003
Docket2002-CC-00893-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 847 So. 2d 833 (Southwood Door Co. v. Burton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Southwood Door Co. v. Burton, 847 So. 2d 833, 20 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 18, 2003 Miss. LEXIS 276, 2003 WL 21284518 (Mich. 2003).

Opinion

847 So.2d 833 (2003)

SOUTHWOOD DOOR COMPANY
v.
Raymond BURTON.

No. 2002-CC-00893-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

June 5, 2003.

*835 Timothy W. Lindsay, Flowood, attorney for appellant.

Steven D. Slade, Meridian, attorney for appellee.

Before McRAE, P.J., WALLER and GRAVES, JJ.

WALLER, Justice, for the Court.

¶ 1. Raymond Burton, a truck driver, was terminated by his employer, Southwood Door Company, after testing positive on a random drug test. Burton thereafter sought unemployment compensation benefits which were denied by the Board of Review of the Mississippi Employment Security Commission (MESC). Burton appealed the denial of benefits to the Lauderdale County Circuit Court which reversed the denial and awarded Burton benefits. Southwood appeals the judgment of the circuit court. Finding the circuit court's resolution ultimately correct, we affirm the award of benefits.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 2. Southwood Door Company manufactures and distributes doors nationwide. Since it employs over-the-road drivers, Southwood was subject to federal Department of Transportation regulations governing the drug and alcohol testing of its drivers. 49 U.S.C. § 31306 (2003); 49 C.F.R. Part 40 (1999). On July 6, 1999, Southwood employee Raymond Burton was randomly selected for drug testing and reported for testing on July 9, 1999. See 49 U.S.C. § 31306(b) (allowing preemployment, reasonable suspicion, random, and post-accident testing of operators of commercial motor vehicles). Burton underwent a "Breathalyzer" alcohol test and urine drug test at the MEA Drug Testing Consortium's satellite collection facility in Quitman, Mississippi.

¶ 3. Lori Hale, a representative of MEA, notified Burton by telephone on July 12, 1999, that he had tested positive for marijuana. Burton was subsequently terminated on July 13, 1999, pursuant to Southwood's policy which provides for termination in the event of any positive drug or alcohol test.

¶ 4. Burton underwent another urine test at his own expense on July 14, 1999, which yielded a negative result for marijuana. Pursuant to 49 C.F.R. § 382.605, Burton was referred to Patricia Sandusky, Ph.D., a Substance Abuse Professional. Dr. Sandusky concluded that Burton did not have a substance abuse problem and believed Burton's assertions that the methods employed in the collection of his specimen were faulty. She further recommended that Burton undergo a hair follicle drug test which would reveal drug use within the last 90 days. This test yielded a negative result as well.

¶ 5. Southwood denied Burton's request that he be reinstated to his position, and on September 12, 1999, he applied with the MESC for unemployment compensation benefits. The claims examiner found that Southwood did not show that it had terminated Burton for misconduct and deemed him eligible for benefits.

¶ 6. Southwood appealed, and a hearing was conducted before Appeals Referee Timothy Rush on November 18, 1999. The referee reversed the claims examiner and disqualified Burton from benefits, stating:

*836 The Referee is of the opinion that the claimant was discharged for violation of the company's drug policy after he tested positive for use of marijuana. The Referee is of the opinion that the claimant's actions constituted misconduct connected with the work as that term is used in the Unemployment Insurance Law. The decision of the Claims Examiner will be cancelled.

¶ 7. As stated in the ruling and pursuant to Miss.Code Ann. § 71-5-519 (2000), the decision of the referee would become final unless an appeal was filed within fourteen days after the notification or mailing of the decision. The Board received Burton's notice of appeal on December 4, 1999, and dismissed the appeal as untimely.

¶ 8. Burton appealed the dismissal of his appeal to the Lauderdale County Circuit Court. According to the MESC, Burton's notice of appeal was received one day late at the wrong address. However, the court found good cause to remand Burton's case for a review on the merits. This decision was never appealed.

¶ 9. On remand, the Board of Review affirmed the decision of the Appeal Referee, stating:

The Board of Review agrees with the Findings of Fact as stated by the Appeal Referee in his decision of November 19, 1999. The facts also show that subsequent to the random drug test taken by the claimant on July 19, 1999, the claimant had other drug tests on his behalf, which test[s] proved to be negative.
The Board agrees with the Opinion of the Referee that the claimant was discharged for violation of the company's drug policy after he tested positive for use of marijuana. The test taken on July 19, 1999[,] was positive for marijuana and such was a violation of the company policy, which was known and understood by the claimant. The result of any subsequent test taken by the claimant does not alter the fact that the test on July 19, 1999[,] was positive. The decision of the Appeals Referee, therefore, will be affirmed.

(emphasis in original).

¶ 10. Burton again appealed to the Lauderdale County Circuit Court. Faced with the question of whether Burton's positive test result could be considered "misconduct" under Mississippi law, the court analyzed the Drug and Alcohol Testing of Employees Law, Miss.Code Ann. §§ 71-7-1 to -33 (2000), as it applied to employment security cases. The court found that since a confirmation test on Burton's specimen had not been conducted, Southwood failed to prove misconduct by clear and convincing evidence. The court also refused to address the timeliness issue, holding that the failure to appeal the circuit court's prior decision to remand barred subsequent review. The decision of the Board of Review was reversed.

¶ 11. Southwood appeals and raises three assignments of error, arguing the circuit court erred in finding good cause to relax Burton's time to appeal, the circuit court applied an improper legal standard to determine that Burton had committed misconduct, and the circuit court erred in applying Mississippi's drug testing statutes to Southwood.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 12. Miss.Code Ann. § 71-5-531 (2000) provides the appropriate standard of review in cases reviewing decisions of the Board of Review: "In any judicial proceedings under this section, the findings of the board of review as to the facts, if supported by evidence and in the absence of fraud, shall be conclusive, and the jurisdiction of said court shall be confined to questions of law." See also Johnson v. *837 Miss. Employment Sec. Comm'n, 761 So.2d 861, 863 (Miss.2000); Coahoma County v. Miss. Employment Sec. Comm'n, 761 So.2d 846, 848-49 (Miss. 2000); Miss. Employment Sec. Comm'n v. Lee, 580 So.2d 1227, 1229 (Miss.1991); Wheeler v. Arriola,

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847 So. 2d 833, 20 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 18, 2003 Miss. LEXIS 276, 2003 WL 21284518, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/southwood-door-co-v-burton-miss-2003.