Toyota Motor Manufacturing, U.S.A., Inc. v. Epperson

945 S.W.2d 413, 1996 Ky. LEXIS 120, 1996 WL 673629
CourtKentucky Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 21, 1996
DocketNo. 96-SC-109-DG
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 945 S.W.2d 413 (Toyota Motor Manufacturing, U.S.A., Inc. v. Epperson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Kentucky Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Toyota Motor Manufacturing, U.S.A., Inc. v. Epperson, 945 S.W.2d 413, 1996 Ky. LEXIS 120, 1996 WL 673629 (Ky. 1996).

Opinions

STUMBO, Justice.

Toyota Motor Manufacturing, U.S.A., Inc. (hereinafter “Toyota”), sought and was granted discretionary review of the decision of the Court Appeals in this employment discrimination case. The issue presented is whether misrepresentations by the employee on his employment application will bar a suit for employment discrimination under the civil rights act. The Court of Appeals held that such misrepresentations will not bar suit under KRS 344.020(1) and we agree.

Brian Epperson (hereinafter “Epperson”) suffered a wrist injury at work. After he had been on medical leave for six months, Toyota discharged him pursuant to company policy. Epperson filed suit alleging discrimination in employment based upon his disability. During the course of the litigation of this suit and Epperson’s workers’ compensation claim, Toyota discovered that Epperson had misrepresented certain facts on his employment application.

Specifically, in response to appropriate questions, Epperson failed to mention that he had been discharged by Tandy Corporation in 1990, and that he had attended high school in Danville and college at Purdue University. [414]*414Additionally, Epperson failed to disclose that he had previously attempted suicide, undergone diagnostic testing on his back, been hospitalized numerous times for various medical problems, and diagnosed with diabetes.

The employment application Epperson filled out contained the following language directly above the signature line:

All of the information I have provided is true, correct and complete to the best of my knowledge. I agree that any omission, misrepresentation or falsification or information on [this application/the physical exam] or any other documentation presented to Toyota will be grounds for rejecting this application or discharging me if I am employed by the Company.

According to an affidavit submitted by a Toyota’s Assistant General Manager of Human Resources, Toyota has a policy of not hiring persons who have been terminated by previous employers for serious disciplinary-related matters. The trial court granted Toyota summary judgment over the objection of Epperson. The Court of Appeals reversed with a split decision, and this court granted discretionary review.

Because this matter was resolved by summary judgment, the record must be viewed in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion and all doubts must be resolved in that party’s favor. Steelvest, Inc. v. Scansteel Serv. Ctr., Inc., Ky., 807 S.W.2d 476, 480 (1991). Summary judgment is properly entered if the pleadings and all relevant discovery indicate that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party ⅛ entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Palmer v. International Ass’n of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Ky., 882 S.W.2d 117, 120 (1994).

While the trial court did not state its reasons for granting summary judgment1, Toyota’s memorandum in support of summary judgment relied heavily on Honaker v. Duro Bag Mfg. Co., Ky., 851 S.W.2d 481 (1993). Honaker is a workers’ compensation ease wherein the injured worker failed to disclose relevant portions of his medical history on his preemployment application and had a cousin undergo the preemployment physical in his place. The application stated that to be considered for employment, an applicant must “pass the company’s pre-em-ployment physical.” Id. at 482.

Additionally, Honaker did not tell Duro that he had received a medical discharge from the U.S. army, a disability rating from the Veteran’s Administration, and, following his discharge, had undergone treatment for his back, including a brace, cane, and muscle relaxants. He suffered a work-related back injury within a few months of beginning work with Duro. During litigation of the workers’ compensation claim his true medical history was revealed, as was the fact that his cousin had taken the preemployment physical. Ho-naker’s explanation for his lack of candor was that he believed he would be discriminated against because he could not pass the physical and did not want to risk not being hired. Id.

This Court held that Honaker’s claim was barred since no employer/employee relationship was formed because Honaker failed to perform a condition precedent to the contract formation; to wit: he failed to take and pass the preemployment physical. Id. at 483. The Court noted that KRS 342.640 defines a covered employee as one who is “in the service of an employer under any contract of hire or apprenticeship, express or implied .... ” Without a contract for hire there is no employer/employee relationship for workers’ compensation purposes. M.J. Daly Co. v. Varney, Ky., 695 S.W.2d 400, 401-02. (1985).

On appeal, Epperson argued that the Honaker reasoning should not transfer to the area of civil rights for a number of reasons. First, the Kentucky Civil Rights Act does not incorporate the “contract of hire” concept contained in KRS 342.640, and the policy considerations reflected in that concept are separate and different from those backing civil rights legislation. Next, Epperson noted that in Honaker the misrepresentation regarding his prior medical history and the [415]*415work-related injury were closely related (both involved Honaker’s back), while in the instant case the wrist injmy at Toyota had no apparent connection to the medical conditions omitted from the application. Additionally, Epperson actually took and passed the required preemployment physical for Toyota.

Finally, Epperson relied upon the opinion of the United States Supreme Court in McKennon v. Nashville Banner Publishing Co., 513 U.S. 352, 115 S.Ct. 879, 130 L.Ed.2d 852 (1995). In that case the Court refused to bar all relief under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act as a result of so-called “after-acquired evidence” of employee wrongdoing. McKennon, 513 U.S. at 358, 115 S.Ct. at 884, 130 L.Ed.2d at 861. Therein, the Court allowed a discrimination suit to proceed although the claimant had photocopied confidential company documents prior to her termination as “insurance” and “protection”, a fact unknown to the employer at the time of the termination. McKennon, 513 U.S. at 354-55, 115 S.Ct. at 882-83, 130 L.Ed.2d at 859-60.

The Court of Appeals was impressed with the first and last arguments of Epperson. Noting that an action under the Civil Rights Act can be maintained where an employer refuses to hire a potential employee because of prohibited discriminatory considerations, the court stated that the policy considerations guiding the decision in Honaker and behind the Workers’ Compensation Act were completely different. We agree. As stated in

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Bluebook (online)
945 S.W.2d 413, 1996 Ky. LEXIS 120, 1996 WL 673629, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/toyota-motor-manufacturing-usa-inc-v-epperson-ky-1996.