Creps v. Idaho Dep't Of Labor

• Decision Date: 28 June 2010
• Docket Number: No. 36072.,36072.
• Citation: 149 Idaho 634,238 P.3d 1284
• Court: Idaho Supreme Court
• Parties: Ruth A. CREPS, Claimant-Appellant, v. IDAHO DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, Respondent.

149 Idaho 634

238 P.3d 1284

Ruth A. CREPS, Claimant-Appellant, v. IDAHO DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, Respondent.

No. 36072.

Supreme Court of Idaho,

Boise, June 2010 Term.

June 28, 2010.

Thomas Tharp, Boise, for appellant.

Hon. Lawrence G. Wasden, Attorney General, Boise, for respondent.

HORTON, Justice.

This is an appeal from the Idaho Industrial Commission's (Industrial Commission) determination that the Idaho Department of Labor (IDOL or the Department of Labor) properly denied Ruth Creps' (Creps) application for assistance from the Federal Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program. The Industrial Commission found that the Executive MBA program offered by Boise State University (BSU) was substantially similar to BSU's traditional MBA program “in the content, quality and result” and denied the application based on the requirements of 20 C.F.R. § 617.22(a)(6), governing applications to the TAA program. Creps now appeals. We affirm.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Creps was formerly employed by Micron Technology and was laid off in 2007. In 2008, Creps applied for assistance from the TAA program to support her participation in BSU's Executive MBA program. The TAA program is designed to provide training for workers who have been laid off as a result of international trade competition. 19 U.S.C. § 2296. The Department of Labor, the agency responsible for administering the TAA program in Idaho, rejected Creps' application stating that:

According to the information provided, the Executive MBA program at BSU costs $41,000, while the traditional MBA program at BSU costs approximately $14,000. A BSU representative confirmed that the end result of each program is the same. Therefore, the Executive MBA program cannot be approved due to the high cost.

Both BSU's Executive MBA program and its traditional MBA program lead to an MBA degree. The two programs differ in that the Executive MBA program is geared towards individuals with significant work experience, it does not require that applicants take the GMAT admissions test, and the curriculum provides more tailored coursework with executive coaching and residency programs. However, the cost of the Executive MBA program is approximately $41,000, while the traditional MBA program costs approximately $14,000. This cost difference is partially due to the fact that books, materials and fees are included in the Executive MBA's costs.

Creps appealed the Department of Labor's decision to an appeals examiner who found that the two programs were “not equal in content and quality, and although the result in obtaining an MBA degree is the same, the MBA degrees are not ‘equal’ in every way as the Department asserts.” Because the “Executive MBA program will better allow the claimant to reach” the goal of securing employment at a skill level similar to the level at which she was previously employed, the appeals examiner approved Creps' application.

The Department of Labor then appealed to the Idaho Industrial Commission. The findings of fact by the Industrial Commission included that Creps was laid off and previously earned approximately $90,000; that she applied to enter the Executive MBA program at BSU which costs approximately $41,000; that the Department of Labor denied Creps' application for TAA assistance because the traditional MBA program costs $14,000; and that both traditional and Executive MBA programs are two year programs and result in the same degree, although the Executive MBA program involves students with more professional experience and has smaller, more integrated courses than the traditional MBA program. Based on these findings and the language of 20 C.F.R. § 617.22(a)(6), which governs TAA approval, the Industrial Commission found that Creps “has not persuaded us that the programs are so dissimilar in the training they offer in [her] chosen career that they are not comparable in the context of the TAA criteria.” The Industrial Commission therefore found that the denial of Creps' application was proper because the Executive MBA program “does not satisfy the ‘lowest cost’ requirement of 20 C.F.R. § 617.22(a)(6)....” Creps now appeals.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Reviews of TAA determinations are “subject to review in the same manner and to the same extent as determinations and redeterminations under the applicable State law, and only in that manner and to that extent.” 20 C.F.R. § 617.51(a). The TAA is an unemployment benefit and the Idaho Industrial Commission is authorized to hear and decide matters appealed to it in accordance with the Idaho Employment Security Law. I.C. § 72-1332. See also Hampe v. Butler, 364 F.3d 90, 91 (3d Cir.2004) (“The Trade Act of 1974 ... provides unemployment compensation, training, job search, relocation, allowances and other benefits to workers who have lost their jobs as a result of competition from imports.”).

When this Court reviews a decision of the Industrial Commission, it exercises free review over questions of law, but reviews questions of fact only to determine whether substantial and competent evidence supports the Commission's findings. Substantial and competent evidence is relevant evidence that a reasonable mind might accept to support a conclusion. Because the Commission is the fact finder, its conclusions on the credibility and weight of the evidence will not be disturbed on appeal unless they are clearly erroneous. This Court does not weigh the evidence or consider whether it would have reached a different conclusion from the evidence presented.

Eacret v. Clearwater Forest Indus., 136 Idaho 733, 735, 40 P.3d 91, 93 (2002) (citations omitted).

III. ANALYSIS

This case presents a question of the application of the TAA. 19 U.S.C. §§ 2101-2487. The Trade Act of 1974, which established the TAA, was enacted, in part, “to assist industries, firm, [sic] workers, and communities to adjust to changes in international trade flows....” 19 U.S.C. § 2102(4). The TAA provides tuition and some of the incidental costs to retrain workers who have been laid off as a result of international competition. 19 U.S.C. § 2296. While the program is overseen at the national level by the U.S. Department of Labor, states are provided with funding to distribute according to federal regulations.

Eligibility for TAA funding is governed by 20 C.F.R. § 617.22. Subsection (a) lists six criteria required for TAA assistance. The parties agree that Creps satisfies the first five criteria. The Department of Labor, however, determined that Creps had not satisfied the sixth criterion, which specifies that the “training is suitable for the worker and available at a reasonable cost.” 20 C.F.R. § 617.22(a)(6). In relevant part, the regulation provides:

(a) Conditions for approval. Training shall be approved for an adversely affected worker if the State agency determines that:

....

(6) Such training is suitable for the worker and available at a reasonable cost.

(i) Such training means the training being considered for the worker. Suitable for the worker means that paragraph (a)(5) of this section is met and that the training is appropriate for the worker given the worker's capabilities, background and experience.

(ii) Available at a reasonable cost means that training may not be approved at one provider when, all costs being considered, training substantially similar in quality, content and results can be obtained from another provider at a lower total cost within a similar time frame. It also means that training may not be approved when the costs of the training are unreasonably high in comparison with the average costs of training other workers in similar occupations at other providers. This criterion also requires taking into consideration the funding of training costs from sources other than TAA funds, and the least cost to TAA funding of providing suitable training opportunities to the worker. Greater emphasis will need to be given to these elements in determining the reasonable costs of training, particularly in view of the requirements in § 617.11(a)(2) and (3) that TRA ¹ claimants be enrolled in and participate in training.

(iii) For the purpose of determining reasonable costs of training, the following elements shall be considered:

(A) Costs of a training program shall include tuition and related expenses (books, tools, and academic fees), travel or transportation expenses, and subsistence expenses;

(B) In determining whether the costs of a particular training program are reasonable, first consideration must be given to the lowest cost training which is available within the commuting area. When training, substantially similar in quality, content and results, is offered at more than one training provider, the lowest cost training shall be approved; and

(C) Training at facilities outside the worker's normal commuting area that involves transportation or subsistence costs which add substantially to the total costs shall not be approved if other appropriate training is available.

Id. The Industrial Commission decided this case under the provisions of 20 C.F.R. § 617.22(a)(6). ²

Based upon the Industrial Commission's findings and legal conclusions, this opinion will consider three issues: First, whether the regulatory provisions referencing “another provider” and “more than one training provider” prohibit a comparison of two training programs from a single provider; second, in the event that 20 C.F.R. § 617.22(a) allows training programs from the same provider to be compared, whether the Industrial Commission erred in determining that BSU's Executive and traditional MBA programs were comparable; and finally, whether we may address Creps' argument that the traditional MBA program exceeds the 104 week period allowed for completion of the TAA training. These issues are addressed in turn.

A. 20 C.F.R. § 617.22(a)(6) permits consideration of two similar training programs from the same provider.

As noted above, the first question regards...