Baker v. Department of Employment and Training Bd. of Review

• Decision Date: 11 February 1994
• Docket Number: No. 92-577-M,92-577-M
• Citation: 637 A.2d 360
• Parties: 89 Ed. Law Rep. 179, 33 A.L.R.5th 919 Mary BAKER et al. v. DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING BOARD OF REVIEW v. PAWTUCKET SCHOOL DEPARTMENT. P.
• Court: Rhode Island Supreme Court

Page 360

637 A.2d 360

89 Ed. Law Rep. 179, 33 A.L.R.5th 919

Mary BAKER et al. v. DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING BOARD OF REVIEW v. PAWTUCKET SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.

No. 92-577-M.P.

Supreme Court of Rhode Island.

Feb. 11, 1994.

Richard A. Skolnik, Providence, for plaintiff.

Stephen Robinson, Katherine Merolla, Pawtucket School Dept., Providence, Pat Nero, Board of Review, for defendant.

OPINION

LEDERBERG, Justice.

This case came before the Supreme Court on a petition for certiorari filed by the Pawtucket School Department seeking review of a District Court judgment that reversed a decision of the Board of Review (board) of the Department of Employment and Training (DET). The board had affirmed the denial of unemployment benefits to teachers Mary Baker, Jeanne Calnan, Debra Girard, Kristen Henson, Beverly Jackson, Joan McDonald, Sheila Morgan, Carol Viscera, and Brenda Warnock (plaintiffs). The District Court found that the board had erroneously determined that the plaintiffs were teachers who had reasonable assurances of employment for the next school year and thus were ineligible for unemployment benefits pursuant to G.L.1956 (1986 Reenactment) § 28-44-68. For the reasons stated herein, we reverse the decision of the District Court and uphold the board's denial of unemployment benefits to eight of the plaintiffs, and we affirm the District Court's grant of benefits to one of the plaintiffs, Jeanne Calnan.

I Background

During the 1989-1990 school year, plaintiffs were employed as teachers under one-year contracts with the City of Pawtucket School Department. On February 26, 1990, the superintendent of Pawtucket schools wrote a letter to each plaintiff, stating that at the February 27, 1990, school committee meeting, he would recommend that the school committee not renew their contracts for the 1990-1991 school year because of the anticipated return from leave of "regular" teachers or of teachers who had more seniority than plaintiffs. On February 27, 1990, the school committee did in fact vote not to renew plaintiffs' contracts, and plaintiffs were notified of this decision by letters dated February 28, 1990.

On June 13, 1990, the last day of the 1989-1990 school year, plaintiffs met with representatives from the school department. At this meeting, Dr. Emile Chevrette (Chevrette), deputy superintendent of schools, informed plaintiffs that while he was unable to tell them definitively that they would be rehired, he could assure them that there were at least twenty vacancies for the next school year. Chevrette further assured plaintiffs that before the school department hired any new teachers, it would first look to the recall list and would call back plaintiffs before other applicants. On that same day, the superintendent of Pawtucket schools sent to each plaintiff a letter reassuring that "[i]t is our expectation that you will be re-employed for the next school year." ¹

After the June 13, 1990, meeting, each plaintiff filed a claim for unemployment benefits. The director of the DET, however, determined that plaintiffs had received reasonable assurances of employment with the school department for the 1990-1991 school year, ² and consequently denied the claims. The plaintiffs appealed the director's decision and a referee of the board heard the case on August 10, 1990. At that hearing plaintiffs claimed entitlement to unemployment benefits from June 13, 1990, until their respective recall dates, on or about July 24, 1990. In a written decision issued on October 24, 1990, the referee affirmed the director's decision. The referee concluded that each plaintiff had received reasonable assurance of being reemployed for the 1990-1991 school year, and therefore each was barred by § 28-44-68 from receiving benefits. The referee reasoned that the teachers were informed on June 13, 1990, that the school department expected to rehire them. The plaintiffs appealed the referee's decisions to the board which, in turn, adopted and approved the referee's decisions in respect to the law and the facts in each case.

The plaintiffs appealed the board's decisions to the District Court Pursuant to G.L. 1956 (1993 Reenactment) § 42-35-15 and G.L. 1956 (1986 Reenactment) § 28-44-52. The Pawtucket School Department intervened on the appeal. After concluding that the board's decisions were "clearly erroneous in view of the reliable, probative and substantial evidence on the whole record," the District Court reversed the board's decisions and granted benefits to plaintiffs. On April 8, 1993, this court granted the Pawtucket School Department's petition for certiorari to review whether plaintiffs were eligible for benefits under § 28-44-68.

II Standard of Review

In reviewing the decisions of the board, the District Court is limited by the standard enunciated in § 42-35-15(g) of the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). ³ Section 42-35-15 provides in pertinent part:

"(g) The court shall not substitute its judgment for that of the agency as to the weight of the evidence on questions of fact. The court may affirm the decision of the agency or remand the case for further proceedings, or it may reverse or modify the decision if substantial rights of the appellant have been prejudiced because the administrative findings, interferences [sic ], conclusions, or decisions are:

(1) In violation of constitutional or statutory provisions;

(2) In excess of the statutory authority of the agency;

(3) Made upon unlawful procedure;

(4) Affected by other error or [sic ] law;

(5) Clearly erroneous in view of the reliable, probative, and substantial evidence on the whole record; or

(6) Arbitrary or capricious or characterized by abuse of discretion or clearly unwarranted exercise of discretion."

Accordingly, when reviewing an agency decision, the District Court must not substitute its judgment for that of the agency in regard to the credibility of witnesses or the weight of the evidence on questions of fact. Costa v. Registrar of Motor Vehicles, 543 A.2d 1307, 1309 (R.I.1988). Rather, the court must confine itself to review of the record to determine whether "legally competent evidence" exists to support the agency decision. See Environmental Scientific Corp. v. Durfee, 621 A.2d 200, 208 (R.I.1993). Thus, the District Court may "reverse factual conclusions of administrative agencies only when they are totally devoid of competent evidentiary support in the record." Milardo v. Coastal Resources Management Council, 434 A.2d 266, 272 (R.I.1981).

Our review on certiorari of District Court judgments rendered in proceedings brought under § 42-35-15 is limited to review of "any questions of law." Section 42-35-16. See Barrington School Committee v. State Labor Relations Board, 608 A.2d 1126, 1138 (R.I.1992). Under § 42-35-16, we may not weigh the evidence to resolve factual disputes. DePetrillo v. Department of Employment Security, 623 A.2d 31, 34 (R.I.1993). Rather, our review must focus on whether there exists legally competent evidence to support the decision under review. See id. This means that we must examine the whole record to determine whether the District Court concluded properly that the board's ruling was "unsupported by substantial evidence." See Barrington School Committee, 608 A.2d at 1138. Without reliable, probative, and substantial evidence on the whole record to sustain the board's findings, we would be constrained to affirm the judgment of the District Court. See id.

III Discussion

The intended purpose of Rhode Island's unemployment statute is to assist unemployed individuals who are seeking work. See Harvey v. Director of Department of Employment Security, 120 R.I. 159, 167-68, 385 A.2d 1057, 1062 (1978). The statute, however, precludes payment of benefits to school employees who are out of work only for holiday and summer recesses. Section 28-44-68. The rationale for this limitation is that school employees can plan for those periods of unemployment and thus are not experiencing the suffering from unanticipated layoffs that the employment-security law was intended to alleviate. Preziosi v. Department of Employment Security, Board of Review, 529 A.2d 133, 138 (R.I.1987).

In order to distinguish between school employees who meet the criteria for classification as "unemployed" and those that are on summer or holiday recesses, the General Assembly enacted § 28-44-68. That section provides in pertinent part:

"With respect to services performed * * * in an instructional, research, or principal administrative capacity for an educational institution * * * benefits shall not be paid based on those services for any week of unemployment commencing during the period between two (2) successive academic years * * * to any individual if that individual performs those services in the first of such academic years * * * and if there is a contract or a reasonable assurance that such individual will perform services in any such capacity for any educational institution in the second of those academic years or terms. " (Emphasis added.) Section 28-44-68(1).

As evident from this statutory language, school teachers who have a contract or a reasonable assurance that they will teach in the upcoming school year are deemed to be between years or terms and therefore ineligible for unemployment benefits. At the close of the 1989-1990 school year, none of plaintiffs had contracts for the 1990-1991 school year; accordingly, their eligibility for unemployment benefits centers on whether they were given "reasonable assurances" of employment.

Under § 28-44-68, "reasonable assurance does not mean a guarantee of future employment." Preziosi, 529 A.2d at 137. "The reasonable assurance requirement may be satisfied simply by notice of the fact that the school department may have openings * * * and that the particular teacher may be called for such work." Id. The determination of reasonable assurance is left to the board after it examines all relevant...