Appeal of Miller, s. 12473

• Citation: 283 N.W.2d 241
• Decision Date: 05 September 1979
• Docket Number: 12478,Nos. 12473,s. 12473
• Parties: In the Matter of the Appeal of the Grievance of Max MILLER and the South Dakota Department of Social Services.
• Court: Supreme Court of South Dakota

Page 241

283 N.W.2d 241

In the Matter of the Appeal of the Grievance of Max MILLER and the South Dakota Department of Social Services.

Nos. 12473, 12478.

Supreme Court of South Dakota.

Sept. 5, 1979.

Steve L. Jorgensen, Sioux Falls, for appellant and cross-respondent miller.

Janice C. Godtland, Asst. Atty. Gen., Pierre, for respondent and cross-appellant Dept. of Social Services, William J. Janklow, Atty. Gen., Pierre, on the brief.

WOLLMAN, Chief Justice.

Appellant, an employee of the Department of Social Services (Department), was demoted from his classification as Social Worker III to Social Worker I on January 21, 1977. Following his exhaustion of the grievance procedures adopted by the Department, appellant demanded a hearing before the Personnel Policy Board (Board) pursuant to SDCL 3-6A-38. Following a hearing, the Board entered findings of fact, conclusions of law, and decision restoring appellant to his Social Worker III classification, awarding him back pay lost during the period of his demotion, and ordering that all derogatory materials be removed from his file. The Department appealed the Board's decision to the circuit court pursuant to SDCL 3-6A-38 and SDCL 1-26. The circuit court held that the Board's decision to reinstate appellant to his former classification was arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion; that the Board's decision to remove all derogatory materials from appellant's file was unsupported by substantial evidence on the whole record; and that the Board had the authority to award back pay. In appeal #12473, appellant challenges that portion of the trial court's order reversing the decision of the Board. In appeal #12478, the Department appeals from that part of the trial court's order which in effect upheld the Board's award of back pay to appellant. We affirm in both appeals.

At the time of the hearing before the Board in May of 1977, appellant had been with the Department for some eleven years, during which period he earned a Master's Degree in Social Work.

The principal complaints concerning appellant's performance as a Social Worker III were his lack of good judgment, his inability to function well in crisis situations, his inability or unwillingness to develop therapeutic relationships with the persons assigned to his care and supervision, his lack of objectivity in handling adoption cases, and his propensity to engender antagonism on the part of those persons with whom he had professional contacts, including in at least one instance the circuit judge who was presiding over a termination of parental rights case involving children who were under appellant's supervision.

Testifying in support of the Department's demotion of appellant were appellant's immediate supervisor, two administrators, a co-employee, and a deputy state's attorney who had worked with appellant in presenting cases before the circuit court. These individuals testified concerning several specific cases in which appellant had manifested the shortcomings complained of. Appellant countered this testimony with his own testimony and that of a child psychologist. The latter, however, was not familiar with the specific cases that gave rise to the Department's complaints concerning appellant's performance as a social worker. The Board found that appellant had performed his responsibilities in a satisfactory and professional manner, that he had been competent and efficient in the performance of his duties, that he had conducted himself properly and had adequately performed his responsibilities in the handling of one of the principal cases that gave rise to the complaints against him, that he had exercised good judgment in working with his clients and had not been insensitive to their needs, and that appellant was not a serious morale problem in his unit. The Board concluded that good cause did not exist for appellant's demotion.

The circuit court ruled that in reviewing the decision of the Department the Board is bound to follow the same standards that circuit courts must adhere to in reviewing agency decisions under the provisions of SDCL 1-26-36. Although we conclude that there is no statutory authority to support this ruling, the circuit court's imposition of this overly circumscribed scope of review does not require us to reverse the circuit court's judgment. Our review of the Board's action is on the same footing as the circuit court's review. Piper v. Neighborhood Youth Corps, 241 N.W.2d 868 (S.D. 1976). Our review persuades us that the Board's findings, conclusions, and decision are...