PEGGY A. VAUGHN, APPELLANT,
v.
FLORIDA UNEMPLOYMENT APPEALS COMMISSION, AND SHOP & GO, INC., APPELLEES
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The court reversed the denial of unemployment benefits to an employee who refused to submit to a polygraph examination, holding that such refusal does not constitute misconduct under Florida law where polygraph testing was not a pre-employment requirement or announced condition of continued employment.
An employee's refusal to take a polygraph examination does not constitute misconduct under Florida's unemployment compensation statute where submission to such examination was not a pre-employment requirement or announced condition of continued employment. The voluntary submission to prior examinations does not create an implied condition of employment.
[1] Refusal to take a polygraph examination does not constitute misconduct disqualifying an employee from unemployment benefits when submission to such examination was not a…
[2] Voluntary submission to prior polygraph examinations does not create an implied condition of employment requiring future submission.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“has been discharged by his employing unit for misconduct connected with his work”
The statutory basis for denying unemployment benefits; sets the legal framework for the case
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellant managed a convenience store for approximately four years and had voluntarily submitted to polygraph examinations on several prior occasions …
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Misconduct For Unemployment Benefits cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
At issue is whether an individual who refuses to take a polygraph examination may be denied unemployment compensation benefits where submission to such examination was not a term of the employment contract. We answer in the negative and reverse.
Appellant managed a convenience store for approximately four years. On several occasions, at the owner/company’s request, appellant took a polygraph examination. In 1984 the company noted inventory shortages at appellant’s store and, again, requested that she submit to a polygraph examination. She declined, was fired, and filed for unemployment compensation benefits. The Division of Unemployment Comr pensation denied benefits, stating: “You were discharged because you refused to take a polygraph test. This was not an unreasonable request since you had agreed to take a test on a previous occasion.” Appellant sought an administrative hearing which resulted in a recommendation from the appeals referee that appellant be denied benefits. The Commission affirmed this recommendation and appellant filed this appeal.
Section 443.101(l)(a), Florida Statutes (1985), provides that an individual shall be disqualified from unemployment benefits if that individual “has been discharged by his employing unit for misconduct connected with his work....” Misconduct, in turn, has been defined to include “[ejonduct evincing such willfúl or wanton disregard of an employer’s . interest-as is found in deliberate violation or disregard of standards of behavior which the employer has the right to expect of his employee.... ” § 443.036(24)(a), Fla.Stat. (1985). Placed in this framework, the question is whether appellant’s refusal to take a polygraph examination amounts to misconduct within the meaning of the statute.
The Third District addressed this issue in Swope v. Florida Industrial Commission Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, 159 So. 2d 653 (Fla. 3d DCA 1963), where the court held that an employee’s refusal to take a polygraph examination did not constitute misconduct within a meaning of the statute. The court noted, however, that
[a] different case would be made out for such refusal by one who entered the employment after the rule for lie detector tests was in effect and with knowledge that it was a condition of employment or continued employment....
Id. at 654. The Commission argues that the case at bar fits the definition of that “different case” described by the Third District. We disagree.
In this case, as in Swope, there was no pre-employment requirement to submit to polygraph examinations. Furthermore, the record does not reflect that there was an announced rule which made such tests a condition of continued employment. The fact that appellant voluntarily submitted to prior polygraph examinations does not create an implied condition of employment. Thus, we hold that appellant’s refusal to take a polygraph examination does not constitute misconduct. See generally Douthitt v. Kentucky Unemployment Insurance Commission, 676 S.W. 2d 472 (Ky.App.1984); Valley Vendors, Inc. v. Jamieson, 129 Ariz. 238, 630 P. 2d 61 (Ct.App.1981).
Accordingly, the decision of the Unemployment Appeals Commission is reversed and the cause is remanded for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.
REVERSED and REMANDED.
DOWNEY and HURLEY, JJ., and RIVKIND, LEONARD, Associate Judge, concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Thomas v. United Parcel Serv., Inc., 864 So. 2d 567 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004)…ts have addressed an employer’s enforcement of a workplace policy not in effect at the time of the employee’s hiring. See AAA Gold Coast Moving & Storage, Inc. v. Weiss, 654 So. 2d 281 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995); Vaughn v. Fla. Unemployment Appeals Comm’n, 482 So. 2d 593 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986); Swope v. Fla. Indus. Comm’n Unemployment Comp. Bd. of Review, 159 So. 2d 653 (Fla. 3d DCA 1963). When, at the time an employee was hired, the employer had no preset policy with which the employee was required to comply as a cond…
-
Fowler v. Unemployment Appeals Comm'n & Volusia Cnty. Sheriff's Dep't, 537 So. 2d 162 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989)…pensation.2 Here there is no dispute but that Fowler disobeyed the Sheriff’s order to be tested, and that she was forewarned that her failure to comply might result in discharge. Fowler relies upon Vaughn v. Florida Unemployment Appeals Commission, 482 So. 2d 593 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986), which concerned an employer’s requirement that a store manager take a polygraph test when the store inventory turned up short in various categories. The employee had previously submitted to polygraph tests, but refused to do so…
-
Vaughan v. Shop & GO, Inc., 526 So. 2d 91 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987)…n examination as a condition of employment. We affirm. This case comes to us for a second time as a result of the Commission’s denial of appellant’s claim for unemployment compensation benefits. In Vaughn v. Florida Unemployment Appeals Commission, 482 So. 2d 593 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986) (Vaughn I), this court reversed the Commission’s denial of appellant’s claim for unemployment compensation benefits and remanded the cause to the Commission for further proceedings not inconsistent with the opinion. In Vaughn I,…
Authorities Cited
- Swope v. Fla. Indus. Comm'n Unemployment Comp. Bd. OF Review & Jackson's-Byron Dep't Store, 159 So. 2d 653 (Fla. 3d DCA 1963)