CHRYSTLE LITTLE, APPELLANT,
v.
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT SECURITY, APPELLEE
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 appellate court reversed an order finding an employee abandoned her position. The court held that the Public Employees Relations Commission (PERC) improperly relied on an administrative rule creating an evidentiary presumption of abandonment, as state agencies lack the inherent power to create such presumptions without statutory or constitutional authority.
Yes, PERC erred in relying on the evidentiary presumption of abandonment. State executive branch agencies cannot create legal presumptions for administrative proceedings without specific statutory or constitutional authority.
[1] An executive branch agency lacks implied or inherent power to adopt or apply a legal presumption in an administrative proceeding absent specific statutory or constitution…
[2] An administrative order relying materially on an impermissible evidentiary presumption must be set aside.
Previewing 2 of 3 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“An employee who is absent without authorized leave of absence for 3 consecutive workdays shall be deemed to have abandoned her position and to have resigned from the Career Service.”
This quote establishes the administrative rule that created the presumption of abandonment at issue in 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 intelligenceChrystle Little was found to have abandoned her position with the Department of Labor and Employment Security by the Public Employees Relations Commis…
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.
ALLEN, Judge.
The appellant challenges an order of the Public Employees Relations Commission (PERC) which determined that the appellant had abandoned her position with the appellee Department of Labor and Employment Security. We reject the appellant’s assertions that the evidence establishes as a matter of law that no abandonment took place and that the hearing officer erred in rejecting testimony from the appellant’s supervisor. But we find merit in the appellant’s contention that the hearing officer and PERC erred in relying upon the evidentiary presumption of abandonment found in Florida Administrative Code Rule 22A-7.010(2)(a),* which provides in-pertinent part:
An employee who is absent without authorized leave of absence for 3 consecutive workdays shall be deemed to have abandoned her position and to have resigned from the Career Service.
A state executive branch agency lacks implied or inherent power to fashion, adopt, or apply a legal presumption for application in an administrative proceeding in the absence of specific authority in a statute or the constitution. McDonald v. Department of Professional Regulation, 582 So. 2d 660 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991). The courts of this state have found no specific statutory or constitutional authority for the presumption involved here, see Jenkins v. Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, 618 So. 2d 749 (Fla. 1st DCA), rev. dismissed, 623 So. 2d 493 (Fla.1993); Tomlinson v. Department of Health & Rehabilitative Services, 558 So. 2d 62 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990), and none has been provided by the parties to this appeal. Because the impermissible presumption played a material role in leading the hearing officer and PERC to conclude that the appellant had abandoned her position, we set aside the order and remand for further proceedings.
BARFIELD, J., and SHIVERS, Senior Judge, concur. *
Rule 22A-7.010(2)(a) was subsequently transferred to 60K-4.010(2)(a), Florida Administrative Code, and has since been amended to omit the evidentiary presumption.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- McDONALD v. Dep't of Prof'l Reg., 582 So. 2d 660 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991)
- Tomlinson v. Dep't of Health & Rehabilitative Servs., 558 So. 2d 62 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990)
- Jenkins v. State, 618 So. 2d 749 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993)