LANCASTER CTY. SCH. DIST. v. Dept. of Labor
| Decision Date | 28 July 2000 |
| Docket Number | No. S-99-803.,S-99-803. |
| Citation | 260 Neb. 108,615 N.W.2d 441 |
| Parties | LANCASTER COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 0001, also known as Lincoln Public Schools, appellee v. STATE of Nebraska DEPARTMENT OF LABOR and Fernando Lecuona, Commissioner of Labor, appellees, and Karl Palmquist, appellant. |
| Court | Nebraska Supreme Court |
Patrick T. Carraher, of Legal Services of Southeast Nebraska, Lincoln, for appellant.
Riko E. Bishop, of Perry, Guthery, Haase & Gessford, P.C., Lincoln, for appellee Lincoln Public Schools.
John F. Sheaff and John H. Albin, Lincoln, for appellee Fernando Lecuona.
Karl Palmquist, a former employee of Lancaster County School District No. 0001, more commonly known as Lincoln Public Schools (LPS), appeals from an order of the district court for Lancaster County, Nebraska, which reversed the findings of the Nebraska Appeal Tribunal and determined that Palmquist was disqualified from receiving certain unemployment compensation benefits pursuant to Neb.Rev.Stat. § 48-628(1)(a) (Reissue 1998) because he left work voluntarily without good cause. We conclude that the district court did not err in applying the law to the uncontroverted facts in this case and therefore affirm its judgment.
Palmquist began working for LPS as a paraeducator at Lincoln High School on January 13, 1997, earning $6.12 per hour. He remained in this position full time until the end of the 1996-97 school year. He did not work during the summer of 1997 but resumed his duties as a full-time paraeducator in September, under a 10-month contract. In February 1998, LPS honored Palmquist's request to work part time because of scheduling conflicts with his continuing education at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
In April 1998, Palmquist's supervisor held a meeting with the paraeducators employed by LPS, during which she informed them that positions would be available for all of them for the following school year. Although Palmquist testified that he did not attend this meeting, he also testified that he believed he would have been able to return to his paraeducator job for the 1998-99 school year had he desired to do so. Palmquist was approved by LPS to hold one of the open paraeducator positions for the 1998-99 school year. However, Palmquist informed LPS on May 22, 1998, that he was resigning at the end of the school year and would not be returning to work in the fall because his student teaching schedule conflicted with the hours available to paraeducators. Thus, Palmquist's employment with LPS concluded on June 4, the end of his contract term and his last actual day of work for LPS. In August, Palmquist received a letter from LPS informing him that it was still seeking paraeducators for the fall term and that he would qualify for a wage increase.
Beginning in January 1998, Palmquist was employed by Transfiguration Inc. as a paraeducator working part time in a home-based environment and earning $6.50 per hour. Palmquist held the part-time positions with LPS and Transfiguration concurrently until his last day of work for LPS on June 4. After that date, Palmquist's hours at Transfiguration increased to approximately 25 hours per week. Although he had intended to continue his part-time employment with Transfiguration while student teaching in the fall, Palmquist's employment was terminated by Transfiguration on June 26.
On July 1, 1998, Palmquist completed a form which he submitted to the unemployment insurance division of the Nebraska Department of Labor (Department) entitled "Fact Finding Statement Quit" in which he stated that he had resigned from his employment with LPS effective June 4. In response to a question on the form requesting "details of your reason for quitting," Palmquist stated: On the same day, Palmquist also signed another form indicating that he chose not to apply for unemployment benefits at that time. After unsuccessfully seeking other employment, Palmquist applied for unemployment benefits on August 18.
On September 4, 1998, the Department issued a deputy's determination pursuant to Neb.Rev.Stat. § 48-630 (Reissue 1998), finding that Palmquist was entitled to a weekly benefit of $108 without disqualification because the separation from his employment with LPS "was due to a lack of work rather than a voluntary quit." On the same date, the Department issued a notice of monetary determination reflecting maximum benefits payable in the amount of $2,763. Of this amount, $2,562.58 was attributed to Palmquist's employment with LPS and the remaining $200.42 was attributed to his employment with Transfiguration. Pursuant to Neb. Rev.Stat. § 48-624 (Reissue 1998), Palmquist's weekly benefit of $108 was computed on the basis of wages in the amount of $2,642.53 paid to Palmquist by LPS during the second quarter of 1997, which represented the highest total wages received by Palmquist during any quarter of his base period.
LPS appealed the deputy's determination to the Nebraska Appeal Tribunal, asserting that Palmquist had voluntarily resigned his position with LPS and should therefore be disqualified from receiving benefits. The appeal tribunal affirmed the decision of the claims deputy on other grounds, finding that Palmquist's employment with LPS "had ended by its terms." In reaching this determination, the appeal tribunal concluded that § 48-628(8) did not apply because Palmquist indicated he would not be returning to work with LPS for the fall 1998 term, and therefore he did not have "reasonable assurance" of employment under the terms of the statute. The appeal tribunal concluded that no benefit disqualification could be assessed and that Palmquist was entitled to benefits for the weeks claimed.
LPS appealed this decision to the district court for Lancaster County, asserting that Palmquist voluntarily terminated his employment with LPS to pursue other employment even though employment continued to be available to him from LPS for the next school year, and he should therefore be disqualified from benefits in accordance with § 48-628. In an order filed on May 11, 1999, the district court determined that Palmquist's employment with LPS did not expire by its own terms when his contract ended June 4, 1998, reasoning that if that were the case, there would have been no reason for Palmquist to submit his resignation. The district court concluded that Palmquist had voluntarily left his employment with LPS without good cause and was therefore subject to the benefit disqualification imposed by § 48-628(1)(a). The district court therefore reversed and remanded for further proceedings consistent with its determination. Palmquist perfected this appeal, which we removed to our docket on our motion pursuant to our statutory authority to regulate the caseloads of the appellate courts. See Neb.Rev.Stat. § 24-1106(3) (Reissue 1995).
Palmquist contends, restated, that the district court erred in finding that he voluntarily left his employment with LPS without good cause so as to disqualify him from benefits pursuant to § 48-628(1)(a) and, further, that the district court erred in determining that he was disqualified from benefits because Palmquist was not "unemployed" immediately following his last day of employment with LPS due to the fact that at that time, he was still employed by Transfiguration on a part-time basis.
In an appeal from the Nebraska Appeal Tribunal to the district court regarding unemployment benefits, the district court conducts the review de novo on the record. Board of Regents v. Pinzon, 254 Neb. 145, 575 N.W.2d 365 (1998). An aggrieved party may obtain review of any judgment or final order entered by a district court under the Administrative Procedure Act. Lackawanna Leather Co. v. Nebraska Dept. of Rev., 259 Neb. 100, 608 N.W.2d 177 (2000); A & D Tech. Supply Co. v. Nebraska Dept. of Revenue, 259 Neb. 24, 607 N.W.2d 857 (2000); Kimball v. Nebraska Dept. of Motor Vehicles, 255 Neb. 430, 586 N.W.2d 439 (1998); Vinci v. Nebraska Dept. of Corr. Servs., 253 Neb. 423, 571 N.W.2d 53 (1997). See Neb.Rev. Stat. § 48-640 (Reissue 1998).
A judgment or final order rendered by a district court in a judicial review pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act may be reversed, vacated, or modified by an appellate court for errors appearing on the record. Lackawanna Leather Co. v. Nebraska Dept. of Rev., supra; A & D Tech. Supply Co. v. Nebraska Dept. of Revenue, supra; Father Flanagan's Boys' Home v. Agnew,
256 Neb. 394, 590 N.W.2d 688 (1999). See Neb.Rev.Stat. § 84-918 (Reissue 1999).
When reviewing an order of a district court under the Administrative Procedure Act for errors appearing on the record, the inquiry is whether the decision conforms to the law, is supported by competent evidence, and is neither arbitrary, capricious, nor unreasonable. Lackawanna Leather Co. v. Nebraska Dept. of Rev., supra; A & D Tech. Supply Co. v. Nebraska Dept. of Revenue, supra; Lyman-Richey Corp. v. Cass Cty. Bd. of Equal.,
258 Neb. 1003, 607 N.W.2d 806 (2000); Ash Grove Cement Co. v. Cass Cty. Bd. of Equal., 258 Neb. 990, 607 N.W.2d 810 (2000); Constructors, Inc. v. Cass Cty. Bd. of Equal., 258 Neb. 866, 606 N.W.2d 786 (2000). An appellate court, in reviewing a district court judgment for errors appearing on the record, will not substitute its factual findings for those of the district court where competent evidence supports those findings. A & D Tech. Supply Co. v. Nebraska Dept. of Revenue, supra; Father Flanagan's Boys' Home v. Agnew, supra. In instances where an appellate court is required to review cases for error appearing on the record, questions of law are nonetheless reviewed de novo...
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