EDMOND A. FREDDO, APPELLANT,
v.
UNEMPLOYMENT APPEALS COMMISSION AND FLORIDA SHERIFF'S YOUTH RANCHES, INC., APPELLEES
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The Florida District Court of Appeal reversed the Unemployment Appeals Commission's decision denying unemployment benefits to Freddo, a resident director fired for asking coworkers to perform personal favors. The court held that while the employer may have had legitimate reasons for termination, the conduct did not constitute misconduct under Florida unemployment law because it lacked willfulness, prior warning, and repeated violations of explicit policies.
The court reversed the Commission's decision, holding that Freddo's conduct did not constitute misconduct because it lacked the deliberate or substantial disregard of the employer's interests required by statute. Even if Freddo violated company policy, his behavior constituted bad judgment rather than willful disregard, particularly given the absence of prior warnings and repeated violations of explicit policies.
[1] An administrative agency improperly reweighs evidence when it substitutes its own findings for those of a referee who heard the evidence.
[2] Misconduct disqualifying an employee from unemployment benefits typically involves repeated violations of explicit policies after several warnings.
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“The UAC improperly reweighed the evidence and substituted its own findings for those of the referee.”
Establishes that the appellate commission's error was procedural—reviewing facts rather than deferring to the referee's factual findings.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceFreddo worked as a resident director at Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches and was discharged after the regional director discovered he asked a coworker, …
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[*875] FRANK, Judge.
The issue in this case is whether the Unemployment Appeals Commission appropriately reversed the referee’s decision that Edmond A. Freddo was not discharged for misconduct. Because the Commission erroneously reweighed evidence considered by the referee, we reverse.
Freddo, a resident director at Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches, was discharged after the employer’s regional director discovered that Freddo had asked another employee, Keri Crossman, to help repair Freddo’s boat while Crossman was on duty. The regional director began an investigation and unearthed other incidents of Freddo’s asking co-employees or subordinates to perform what might be regarded as personal favors, including working on the boat and doing maintenance work around the residence that the employer provided for Freddo. After discussion about some other alleged conduct, including using profanity and intimidating coworkers, the regional supeivisor discharged Freddo.
Following a hearing the appeals referee essentially accepted Freddo’s version of the events and the interpretation of their importance. The referee found it significant that the boat Freddo kept on the Youth Ranch property had originally been used for recreation benefitting resident boys and girls. Although the referee did not specifically include in his findings the fact that the boat had been out of use for two years, having sunk in a storm and sustained damage, there is no indication that the referee overlooked that fact. The referee took into consideration the fact that staff members are on the premises 24 hours a day, leaving little time to take care of personal business. The claimant’s solicitation of help from time to time was not an abuse of his authority: Freddo “asked no favors of employees other than he would have had they all lived off the premises and been neighbors.” Also vital, in the referee’s view, was the lack of prior warning about Freddo’s conduct. Freddo had received good performance evaluations and did not know he had jeopardized his job until the day he was fired.
The UAC reversed the referee’s ruling even though competent substantial evidence supported the referee’s decision that Freddo’s conduct did not amount to a deliberate or substantial disregard of his employer’s interest. See § 443.036(26), Fla. Stat. (1995). The UAC improperly reweighed the evidence and substituted its own findings for those of the referee. See Verner v. State Unemployment Appeals Comm’n, 474 So. 2d 909 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985). Even if Freddo violated company policy by asking personal favors of other employees, the claimant had no knowledge that this caused the employer any concern until the date of his discharge. Thus, his behavior, even if deliberate, constituted bad judgment rather than willful disregard of the employer’s interest. “Misconduct usually involves repeated violations of explicit policies after several warnings.” Fiedler v. Burdines, Inc., 654 So. 2d 1276 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995); Bulkan v. Florida Unemployment Appeals Comm’n, 648 So. 2d 846 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995). This holding is in keeping with the explicit philosophy behind the unemployment compensation law, which is remedial and must be construed narrowly in favor of the claimant. See Betancourt v. Sun Bank Miami, N.A., 672 So. 2d 37 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996).
The evidence adduced at the hearing suggests that the employer may have had good reasons to fire the claimant. Nevertheless, Freddo’s actions, as the referee found, were not sufficiently egregious to deny him unemployment compensation benefits.
Reversed and remanded for reinstatement of the appellant’s unemployment compensation benefits.
CAMPBELL, A.C.J., and PATTERSON, J., concur.
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Citator
Cited By (14 total)
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Grossman v. J.C. Penney Co. 2071 & Fla. Unemployment Appeals Comm'n, 689 So. 2d 1206 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997)…ployer’s interests. Although Grossman’s employer had good reason to fire her, nevertheless, [*1208] these actions were not sufficiently egregious to support denial of unemployment compensation benefits. See Freddo v. Unemployment Appeals Commission, 685 So. 2d 874 (Fla. 2d DCA, 1996). Accordingly, we reverse and remand for reinstatement of Grossman’s unemployment compensation benefits. Reversed and remanded.…
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Webb v. Rice, 693 So. 2d 1109 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997)…and cited cases. As the foregoing demonstrates, the referee’s decision was supported by competent substantial evidence. The Commission improperly reweighed the evidence and reversed the referee’s decision. See Freddo v. Unemployment Appeals Comm’n, 685 So. 2d 874 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996); Volk v. Florida Unemployment Appeals Comm’n, 673 So. 2d 574 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996); Barreto v. Taco Bell Corp., 661 So. 2d 874 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995); Livingston, 656 So. 2d at 500; Kan v. P.G. Cook Assoc., 566 So. 2d 932 (Fla. 3d DCA 1…
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Baptiste v. Waste Mgmt., Inc., 701 So. 2d 386 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997)…92) (quoting State Department of General Services v. English, 534 So. 2d 726, 729 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988)). In fact, “[m]isconduct usually involves repeated violations of explicit policies after several warnings.” Freddo v. Unemployment Appeals Comm’n, 685 So. 2d 874, 875 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996) (quoting Fiedler v. Burdines, Inc., 654 So. 2d 1276, 1277 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995)). There is no evidence in the record to indicate that Baptiste had repeated violations of explicit policies. Moreover, there is no evidence in the r…
Previewing 3 of 14 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Verner v. State, 474 So. 2d 909 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985)
- Ellington v. State, 648 So. 2d 846 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995)
- Bulkan v. Fla. Unemployment Appeals Comm'n & Terry Ford Co., 648 So. 2d 846 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995)
- Vilma S. Fiedler v. Burdines, Inc., 654 So. 2d 1276 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995)
- Philip Morris, Inc. v. Broin, 672 So. 2d 37 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996)
- Amaury P. Betancourt, Jr. v. SUN Bank Miami, N.A., 672 So. 2d 37 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996)