SIGNAL APPLIED TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND WHEELABRATOR-FRYE, INC., APPELLANTS,
v.
ROBERT L. FINLEY AND THE UNEMPLOYMENT APPEALS COMMISSION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT SECURITY, APPELLEES

Fla. 5th DCA | 1988-01-28
No. 86-2202
SHARP, C.J., concurs., UPCHURCH, FRANK D., Jr., Judge, Retired, dissents with opinion.
519 So. 2d 64 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (1988) Positive Treatment
Cited by 3 cases

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Synopsis

Signal Applied Technologies appeals an Unemployment Appeals Commission order granting unemployment benefits to an employee terminated for misconduct. The court reversed the Commission's decision, holding that the employee's failure to disclose prior injuries on the job application and violation of safety rules constituted misconduct under Florida law.


Holding

Yes. The court held that the evidence supports the appeals referee's finding that the employee's failure to inform the employer of past injuries and violation of company safety rules constituted misconduct under Florida law, thereby disqualifying the employee from unemployment benefits.


Headnotes

[1] Misconduct, as defined by statute, includes conduct evincing a willful or wanton disregard of an employer's interests, or carelessness or negligence of such a degree or r…

[2] An employee's failure to list previous injuries on a job application can constitute misconduct connected with work, especially when worker's compensation rates are at iss…

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Key Quotes

“"Misconduct" includes, but is not limited to, the following, which shall not be construed in pari materia with each other: (a) Conduct evincing such willful or wanton disregard of an employer's interests as is found in deliberate violation or disregard of standards of behavior which the employer has the right to expect of his employee”

Statutory definition of misconduct under Florida law that forms the basis for denying unemployment benefits

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Facts & Procedural History

An employee was discharged after receiving four written warnings, including two serious incidents. The employee failed to list previous injuries on hi…

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Opinion of the Court
COWART, Judge.

COWART, Judge.

Appellant, an employer, appeals an order of the Unemployment Appeals Commission which found an employee entitled to unemployment benefits. The Unemployment Appeals Commission reversed the appeals referee’s finding that the employee was properly discharged for misconduct.

Section 443.036(24), Florida Statutes, defines “misconduct” as:

(24) MISCONDUCT — “Misconduct” includes, but is not limited to, the following, which shall not be construed in pari materia with each other:
(a) Conduct evincing such willful or wanton disregard of an employer’s interests as is found in deliberate violation or disregard of standards of behavior which the employer has the right to expect of his employee; or (b) Carelessness or negligence of such a degree or recurrence as to manifest culpability, wrongful intent, or evil design or to show an intentional and substantial disregard of the employer’s interests or of the employee’s duties and obligations to his employer. In the instant case, the behavior which forms the basis of the employee’s termination consisted of the employee’s failure to list previous injuries on his job application and the employee’s bringing glass containers on the job site in violation of the company’s safety rules.

The appeals referee found the employee guilty of misconduct and determined that:

The record and evidence in this case show that the claimant was discharged for having received four written warnings. Testimony showed that the first two incidents were questionable as to the validity of the offenses. However, the remaining two incidents were serious enough, in themselves, to call for discharge. Of particular concern were the previous injuries not listed by the claimant at the time of application. The claimant’s explanation that the employer did not stress the importance of reporting previous injuries is not convincing to the referee. The proper answer was either yes or no as to whether or not he had experienced prior injuries. The employer’s worker’s compensation rates were at issue. Therefore, it can only be concluded that the claimant was discharged for misconduct connected with work.

The Commission’s reversal is based on a disagreement with the appeals referee as to the weight and meaning of testimony of the employee as to the employee’s mental impression and recollection about when the employer first learned of the employee’s omission on his job application. Contrary to the appeals referee’s understanding of some testimony of the employee, the Commission interpreted that testimony to “establish” that the employer learned of the employee’s omissions on the employee’s employment application months before the employee was discharged. The Commission also concluded that because the employee did not bring glass containers on the job site after being warned there was no misconduct in the first instance. These findings are contrary to the facts found by the referee. The Commission can only reverse the findings and conclusions of the referee when there is no competent, substantial evidence to support the referee’s finding. Lewis v. Unemployment Appeals Commission, 498 So. 2d 608 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986).

The evidence supports the referee’s finding that the employee’s failure to inform his employer of past injuries and the employee’s violation of company safety rules constituted misconduct. Accordingly, the Commission’s order is reversed and the cause is remanded to the Commission with directions to approve the appeals referee’s conclusion that the employee was discharged for misconduct.

REVERSED and REMANDED.

SHARP, C.J., concurs.

UPCHURCH, FRANK D., Jr., Judge, Retired, dissents with opinion.

Dissent
UPCHURCH, Judge,

UPCHURCH, Judge,

dissenting.

I respectfully dissent. Under Chapter 120, Florida Statutes, and the case law interpreting it, the Commission may reject an appeals referee’s finding of fact where it is unsupported by competent, substantial evidence. Rycraft v. United Technologies, 449 So. 2d 382 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984). Insofar as the failure to list the prior injuries is concerned, the evidence establishes that the computer scan run by the employer reflecting the employee’s actual prior medical history was dated September 18, 1985, just a few days after he was hired. Given this, the Commission properly rejected the referee’s finding that appellant discovered the omissions on the employee’s application on May 22, 1986, some eight months later. The Commission properly concluded that appellant waived its right to terminate the employee given the length of time between when it knew or should have known of the omission and when it elected to discharge the employee.

As to bringing glass containers on the job site in violation of safety rules, the evidence not only shows that the employee did not repeat such conduct after he was reprimanded but at most it reflects poor judgment on the employee’s part which does not establish misconduct as per section 443.036(24), Florida Statutes (1985). See Whitaker v. Pizza Hut, 502 So. 2d 84 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987) (employee’s failure to follow proper procedure for testing pizza dough was poor judgment, not intentional disregard of employer’s interests). The Commission is entitled to draw legal conclusions from the evidence, section 120.-57(l)(b)(9), Florida Statutes (1985), and was eminently correct in finding that this evidence did not amount to misconduct.

In sum, the Commission correctly found that appellant had failed to prove misconduct which would disqualify the employee from benefits. The Commission’s decision should be affirmed.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Johnson v. Unemployment Appeals Comm'n, 680 So. 2d 1073 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996)
    …of the employee’s duties and obligations to his employer. There is no doubt that falsifying an employment application is misconduct, a basis for termination, and disqualifies a worker from benefits. See Signal Applied Technologies, Inc. v. Finley, 519 So. 2d 64 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988); Ordnance Research, Inc. v. Sterling, 475 So. 2d 954 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985); § 443.101(l)(a), Fla. Stat. (1995). Further, although not invoked in this case, section 443.101(9)(b), Florida Statutes reads: If the division or the Unem…
  • Proffitt v. Unemployment Appeals Comm'n, 658 So. 2d 185 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995)
    …eals Comm’n, 573 So. 2d 135, 137 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991); § 443.031, Fla.Stat. (1993). In this case, the appeals referee’s determination of misconduct was not supported by competent, substantial evidence. See Signal Applied Technologies, Inc. v. Finley, 519 So. 2d 64, 65 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988). The UAC assumed that Proffitt’s failure to disclose the guilty plea was an intentional falsification of the employment application’s question regarding prior felony convictions; however, the evidence failed to demonstrate th…
  • Wyman L. Austin v. State, 524 So. 2d 488 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988)
    …led that the sentencing documents allow appellant a total of 400 days “plus time served ” as jail credit. Accordingly, we must remand the cause to the trial court to correct the sentences to show the exact number of days of credit. Casteel v. State, 519 So. 2d 64 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988); Rushing v. State, 355 So. 2d 501 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978). ERVIN and THOMPSON, JJ., concur.…

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