Sunrise Children's Services, Inc. v. Kentucky Unemployment Insurance Commission

515 S.W.3d 186, 2016 Ky. App. LEXIS 33, 2016 WL 929370
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedMarch 11, 2016
DocketNO. 2014-CA-000633-MR
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 515 S.W.3d 186 (Sunrise Children's Services, Inc. v. Kentucky Unemployment Insurance Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sunrise Children's Services, Inc. v. Kentucky Unemployment Insurance Commission, 515 S.W.3d 186, 2016 Ky. App. LEXIS 33, 2016 WL 929370 (Ky. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION

NICKELL, JUDGE:

Sunrise Children’s Services, Inc., (Sunrise) has appealed from the Hardin Circuit Court’s April 10, 2014, order affirming the decision of the Kentucky Unemployment Insurance Commission (KUIC) which in turn affirmed the decision of the KUIC Appeals Referee determining Lola Llerena was qualified to receive unemployment benefits upon finding Llerena was discharged for reasons other than work-related misconduct. Following a careful review, we affirm.

Llerena began working on April 23, 2007, as a counselor at Sunrise’s Elizabeth-town facility which housed abused and neglected children. On November 13, 2012, a female client of the facility became upset and ran out of one classroom into another. When directed to return to her classroom, the child instead ran into a restroom. Llerena and two male employees responded to the incident. One of the males was Llerena’s direct supervisor, Ernest Kellogg. Knowing the child had a history of self-mutilation, Llerena attempted to stop her from locking herself in the restroom. A struggle at the door ensued. The child eventually opened the door and came out of the restroom in “attack mode.” After a short verbal altercation with two male staffers and Llerena, the child moved toward Llerena. When confronted,' Llerena quickly raised her hands—purportedly in the interest of self-protection as she had been taught in her safe-crisis management (SCM) training pi’ovided by Sunrise—and made contact with the girl who then stumbled backwards. The child started kicking, screaming, and grabbing at Llerena’s hair, name tag and keys. Because of the violent outburst, the child was taken to the floor and restrained by the two male staff members. The child was then forcibly removed to another area of the facility.

At some point later that day, the child alleged Llerena had inappropriately hit her. Pursuant to protocol, Sunrise reported the incident to the two state agencies which oversee its operations, the Department of Community Based Services (DCBS) and the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), for their review. Llerena continued to work during the pending investigations. Both of the agencies viewed a video recording1 of the incident captured by a camera located in the hallway where the incident occurred. DCBS and OIG cleared Llerena of wrongdoing related to the allegations levied by the child.

Approximately six weeks after the incident, on December 27, 2012, Sunrise terminated Llerena’s employment for using inappropriate physical contact with the child. It indicated the decision was primarily based on its review of the same video reviewed by DCBS and OIG. Llere-na’s request to view the video was denied.

Llerena filed a claim for unemployment benefits on January 2, 2013, which Sunrise contested. An initial determination denied benefits upon finding Llerena had used an inappropriate physical hold on the child. Llerena appealed that decision and a hearing before the Referee was conducted on March 27, 2013, and April 5, 2013. Conflicting testimony was introduced surrounding the events of November 13, 2012. Llerena was the only eyewitness to testify. The video recording was not introduced [189]*189into evidence, although two of Sunrise’s employees testified they had reviewed the footage and relayed what they observed. Following the hearing, the Referee concluded Llerena was discharged for reasons not associated with misconduct and found she was not disqualified from receiving benefits.2 The Referee gave more weight to Llerena’s eyewitness testimony than that of the two Sunrise employee’s whose testimony was based solely upon a review of the video recording.

Sunrise appealed the decision to KUIC arguing it had produced sufficient evidence of misconduct to warrant Llerena’s termination. Sunrise requested an order reinstating the initial determination of Llerena’s disqualification from receiving benefits, and alternatively, for a remand to the Referee with instructions for the Referee to consider the video evidence. Sunrise again did not seek to introduce a copy of the video recording. KUIC affirmed the Referee’s conclusions with only minor modifications by order entered on June 11, 2013.

Sunrise then filed an action in the Hardin Circuit Court challenging KUIC’s decision. Sunrise argued KUIC’s findings were arbitrary because video evidence existed and the testimony of its witnesses was derived from their review of that recording. Sunrise posited several other arguments relating to Llerena’s alleged willful violation of Sunrise’s rules and procedures, as well as her violation of state procedures. It thus argued KUIC’s decision should be overturned. In the alternative, Sunrise requested a remand to KUIC with instructions for KUIC to take additional evidence—or require the Referee to do so—to wit, the video footage. Sunrise appended a copy of the video recording to its brief to the trial court, the first time in the fourteen months since the incident that it had attempted to produce what it considered vital evidence of Llerena’s misconduct. After reviewing the certified record before it, the trial court affirmed KUIC’s decision by order entered on April 14, 2014. In its order, the trial court noted Sunrise’s failure to introduce the recording was counter to its position that KUIC should “watch the video.” Finally, the trial court concluded KUIC’s findings of fact were supported by substantial evidence and the decision Sunrise had failed to carry its burden was correct as a matter of law. This appeal followed.

Sunrise contends it presented sufficient proof of Llerena’s misconduct to warrant denial of unemployment benefits; KUIC’s findings of fact were arbitrary; the Referee erred in failing to inquire as to existence of the video recording; KUIC’s refusal to remand the matter to the Referee with instructions to view the video was “illogical;” the trial court erred in denying its request for remand to KUIC with instructions to view the video or further remand to the Referee with instructions to do so; KUIC and Llerena waived opposition to Sunrise’s contention Llerena “flouted” state regulations; and that it was entitled to an oral argument before the trial court. Based on these allegations, Sunrise urges reversal. Alternatively, Sunrise again seeks remand to KUIC for the purpose of obtaining additional evidence. Discerning no error, we affirm.

The applicable standard of review was set forth in Thompson v. Kentucky Unemployment Ins. Comm’n, 85 S.W.3d 621, 624 (Ky. App. 2002), as follows:

Upon review of an administrative agency’s adjudicatory decision, an ap[190]*190peal court’s authority is somewhat limited. The judicial standard of review of an unemployment benefit decision is whether [KUIC’s] findings of fact were supported by substantial evidence and whether the agency correctly applied the law to the facts. Substantial evidence is defined as evidence, taken alone or in light of all the evidence, that has sufficient probative value to induce conviction in the minds of reasonable people. If there is substantial evidence to support the agency’s findings, a court must defer to that finding even though there is evidence to the contrary. A court may not substitute its opinion as to the credibility of the witnesses, the weight given the evidence, or the inferences to be drawn from the evidence. A court’s function in administrative matters is one of review, not reinterpretation.

(Internal citations omitted).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
515 S.W.3d 186, 2016 Ky. App. LEXIS 33, 2016 WL 929370, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sunrise-childrens-services-inc-v-kentucky-unemployment-insurance-kyctapp-2016.