City of Lake Wales v. Public Emp. Relations Commission, s. 80-1491

Decision Date22 July 1981
Docket Number80-1837,Nos. 80-1491,s. 80-1491
PartiesCITY OF LAKE WALES, Petitioner, v. PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RELATIONS COMMISSION, Respondent.
CourtFlorida District Court of Appeals

W. Reynolds Allen and Mark E. Levitt of Hogg, Allen, Ryce, Norton & Blue, P.A., Tampa, for petitioner.

Frederick G. Bohannon, Staff Counsel, Public Emp. Relations Commission, Tallahassee, for respondent.

HOBSON, Acting Chief Judge.

Petitioner City of Lake Wales seeks review of two final administrative orders rendered by the Public Employees Relations Commission (PERC). Order No. 80E-153 (case No. 80-1491) defined the appropriate unit of employees of the City's police department for collective bargaining, directed an election in that unit, and designated managerial/confidential employees. In that order, PERC held that shift command sergeants and the supervisory detective sergeant were neither managerial nor confidential, nor were they "conflict supervisors" and must, therefore, be included in the bargaining unit. Order No. 509 (case No. 80-1837) verified the results of the election and certified the Hillsborough County Police Benevolent Association as the exclusive bargaining representative. We affirm both orders.

This court is required by the provisions of section 120.68(7), Florida Statutes, to deal separately with issues of agency procedure, interpretations of law and determinations of fact. Further, we are not permitted to substitute our judgment for that of the agency as to the weight of the evidence on any disputed finding of fact. § 120.68(10). We restate these well-known rules of judicial review to emphasize that regardless of whether we agree with the final agency actions, we are statutorily prevented from changing the outcome where substantial, competent evidence supports the findings of fact and the agency correctly applied the statutory criteria, section 447.203(4), (5), Florida Statutes, to those facts.

In many respects PERC's designation seems to ignore the operational and managerial philosophy that exists in the Lake Wales Police Department. Yet, there is some evidentiary support for the hearing officer's findings of fact, and we cannot say that PERC misapplied the law to these findings.

Therefore, we deny the petitions for review.

GRIMES and OTT, JJ., concur.

To continue reading

Request your trial
4 cases
  • Lenard v. A.L.P.H.A. "a Beginning" Inc., 2D06-2194.
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • December 22, 2006
    ...agency correctly applied the applicable statutory criteria. § 120.68(7), (8), Fla. Stat. (2005); City of Lake Wales v. Pub. Employees Relations Comm'n, 402 So.2d 1224, 1225 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981). Here, the ALJ's finding, adopted by the Commission, that Lenard's permanent physical impairment di......
  • Bureau of Crimes Compensation, Florida Dept. of Labor and Employment Sec. v. Reynolds, 82-1623
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • January 17, 1984
    ...statutory criteria contained in sections 960.13(2) and 960.13(7) to the facts of this case. See City of Lake Wales v. Public Employees Relations Commission, 402 So.2d 1224 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981). We therefore hold that the commissioner properly exercised his discretion in awarding Reynolds lost......
  • Tall Trees Condominium Ass'n, Inc. v. Division of Florida Land Sales and Condominiums, 83-2474
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • September 18, 1984
    ...Florida Dept. of Labor & Employment Security v. Reynolds, 443 So.2d 501 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984); City of Lake Wales v. Public Employees Relations Commission, 402 So.2d 1224 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981); Brewer v. Insurance Commissioner & Treasurer, 392 So.2d 593 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981). From the evidence cont......
  • Valliappan v. Dep't of Revenue
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • August 26, 2020
    ...fact. See § 120.68(10), Fla. Stat. (2019) ; De Groot v. Sheffield, 95 So. 2d 912, 916 (Fla. 1957) ; City of Lake Wales v. Pub. Emps. Relations Comm'n, 402 So. 2d 1224 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981). Because Appellant's own testimony supports the Department's findings of fact, we are constrained to ...

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT