Appeal of Templeton, 15286
| Court | Supreme Court of South Dakota |
| Citation | 38 Ed.LawRep. 1261,403 N.W.2d 398 |
| Docket Number | No. 15286,15286 |
| Parties | 38 Ed. Law Rep. 1261 In the Matter of the Appeal of Robert TEMPLETON From the Decision of the South Dakota Retirement System Denying Disability. . Considered on Briefs |
| Decision Date | 15 September 1986 |
Roger L. Severns, Jr., Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., Pierre, for appellant South Dakota Retirement System; Mark V. Meierhenry, Atty. Gen., Pierre, on brief.
Joseph M. Butler of Bangs, McCullen, Butler, Foye & Simmons, Rapid City, for claimant and appellee.
Robert Templeton (Templeton) applied for disability benefits from the South Dakota Retirement System (SDRS). The administrator of SDRS denied his application. Templeton appealed to the South Dakota Retirement System Board (Board). A hearing examiner recommended that the Board grant Templeton's application for disability benefits but the Board denied Templeton's application. Templeton appealed the Board's decision to circuit court, which reversed the decision of the Board and adopted the hearing examiner's findings of fact and conclusions of law. The SDRS brings this appeal. We affirm.
Templeton earned a high school diploma and was trained in the plumbing and heating field. He held a Contractor's Plumbing License and was employed in plumbing and heating maintenance at Black Hills State College prior to his injury. He had no administrative training or experience.
Templeton injured his right shoulder in December 1981 and was physically unable to perform most of the tasks incident to his trade. After repeated medical examinations and consultations, including surgery, he advised his employer that he could no longer function in his accustomed capacity due to the immobility of his dominant arm.
Shortly thereafter, Black Hills State College created a new half-time position responsible for administering a preventative maintenance planning (PM) program on the campus. The minimum qualifications for the position included a high school diploma, familiarity with data processing equipment, five years of mechanical/electrical experience, and familiarity with preventative maintenance programming. Furthermore, the PM position required that seventy percent of the employee's time be spent establishing and carrying out the comprehensive preventative maintenance plan, which included computer programming of preventative maintenance scheduling. The job also included coordination of campus energy conservation efforts and inspection and supervision of campus construction. The job required the employee to be familiar with data processing devices and electronic equipment. The employee was responsible for generating regularly programmed preventative maintenance schedules, monthly reports on energy conservation efforts with analysis of paybacks, and preliminary grant application preparation.
Even though Templeton satisfied only two of the job's minimum qualifications (the diploma and the maintenance experience), he began work in the PM program in April 1983. He was paid less than one-half of what he had previously received as a plumbing and heating maintenance worker.
Before developing and implementing the PM plan, a great amount of data and information on the existing mechanical and physical makeup of the campus had to be collected. Templeton competently and satisfactorily performed these tedious chores. Essentially, he journeyed about the campus and compiled a detailed inventory of the existing physical plant. However, Templeton resigned before the preventative maintenance plan was fully developed because he could not live on what he was earning on a half-time basis.
The scope of this court's review is prescribed by SDCL 1-26-37. This court makes the same review of the administrative agency's decision as did the circuit court, and it is unaided by any...
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