PATTY SUE SUBLETT, ETC., APPELLANT,
v.
SUMTER COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD, APPELLEE
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Patty Sue Sublett, as personal representative of her deceased father James Sublett's estate, appealed the Sumter County School Board's final order rejecting a hearing officer's recommended order that found insufficient just cause for Sublett's discharge. The Court reversed, holding that the School Board must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that allegations of sexual misconduct were actually true, not merely that allegations were made.
The School Board must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the allegations of sexual misconduct were true, not merely that the allegations were made, in order to demonstrate just cause for termination.
[1] An administrative agency must prove the truth of allegations by a preponderance of the evidence to establish just cause for termination, not merely that the allegations w…
[2] The absence of a transcript from an administrative hearing is not fatal to an appeal challenging the agency's final order.
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“for the School Board to demonstrate just cause for termination, it must prove by a preponderance of the evidence, as required by law, that the allegations of sexual misconduct were true, not merely that the allegations were made”
Establishes the legal standard that must be met to justify employment termination; requires proof of truth of allegations, not just their existence
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceJames Sublett was discharged from his employment with the Sumter County School Board. The School Board based its termination on allegations that Suble…
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GRIFFIN, Judge.
Appellant, Patty Sue Sublett, as personal representative of the estate of James Sublett, seeks review of a final order of the Sumter County School Board [“School Board”] that rejected the recommended order of a DOAH1 hearing officer which concluded that the School Board did not have the required “just cause” to discharge Sublett.2
In rejecting the recommended order of the hearing officer, the School Board made certain additional findings of fact and one conclusion of law, the effect of which was to support the School Board’s position that it had “just cause” to discharge Sublett from his employment because the Board “reasonably believed,” based on an interview with Sublett’s daughter, that he had sexually abused her and because such serious allegations impaired Sublett’s effectiveness as an employee. On appeal, the School Board relies only on the lack of a record of the administrative hearing as a basis for affir-mance.3 Appellant makes a facial challenge to the final order, however, and the absence of the transcript is not fatal.
We agree with the hearing officer that for the School Board to demonstrate just cause for termination, it must prove by a preponderance of the evidence, as required by law, that the allegations of sexual misconduct were true, not merely that the allegations were made.
REVERSED and REMANDED.
GOSHORN and HARRIS, JJ., concur. . Division of Administrative Hearings.
. This case was previously before this court on the issue of appellant's entitlement to a formal hearing. Sublett v. District Sch. Bd., 617 So. 2d 374 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993).
. During oral argument, counsel for the School Board instead argued that the School Board's decision should be upheld because it had offered some hearsay evidence of the misconduct through testimony about and tape recordings of various interviews with Sublett's daughter. The School Board advances no argument that such evidence would have been admissible over objection in a civil action, however. Rather, the argument appears to be that such hearsay standing alone should be sufficient in this type of case. But see § 120.58(l)(a), Fla.Stat. (1993).
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Citator
Authorities Cited
- Sublett v. Dist. Sch. Bd. of Sumter Cnty., 617 So. 2d 374 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993)