Markel v. City of Circle Pines

• Citation: 479 N.W.2d 382
• Decision Date: 17 January 1992
• Docket Number: No. C4-90-1444,C4-90-1444
• Parties: Edward MARKEL, Relator, v. CITY OF CIRCLE PINES, Commissioner of Jobs and Training, Respondents.
• Court: Supreme Court of Minnesota (US)

Page 382

479 N.W.2d 382

Edward MARKEL, Relator, v. CITY OF CIRCLE PINES, Commissioner of Jobs and Training, Respondents.

No. C4-90-1444.

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

Jan. 17, 1992.

Syllabus by the Court

Conduct which results in the loss of a license necessary for the performance of normal job duties is misconduct within the meaning of the unemployment benefit scheme, so as to render the employee ineligible for the receipt of unemployment benefits.

Stanley H. Nathanson, Minneapolis, for relator.

Hubert H. Humphrey, III, Atty. Gen., Steven B. Liss, Special Asst. Atty. Gen., St. Paul, for respondents.

Heard, considered, and decided by the court en banc.

GARDEBRING, Justice.

This is an appeal of a split decision of the Minnesota Court of Appeals, Markel v. City of Circle Pines, 465 N.W.2d 408 (Minn.App.1991). The court of appeals affirmed the Commissioner of Jobs and Training's decision to disqualify Edward Markel from the receipt of unemployment benefits, agreeing with the Commissioner that Markel was discharged for misconduct. The court of appeals also affirmed the Commissioner's finding of fact that Markel had pleaded guilty to a charge of driving with a blood alcohol level of greater than .10. Id. at 410. Markel also raises two new issues, not raised below, challenging the Commissioner's finding of fact that Markel was discharged because he could no longer perform his normal job duties.

From April 1989 to January 1990, Edward Markel worked for the City of Circle Pines as a utility worker. His job duties required driving the city's vehicles, normally either a van or a pickup truck. When hired, Markel was told he would need a valid driver's license. Markel had a Class B driver's license, which allowed him to drive the Class C vehicles he drove on the job, and heavier vehicles up to 26,000 pounds. His regular duties included driving to lift stations and maintaining water system pump houses. He also did other jobs as necessary, including reading meters and occasionally repairing gas lines.

After work on September 22, 1989, Markel had an accident while driving his own vehicle. Markel fell asleep at the wheel of his car and hit a telephone pole. He pleaded guilty to driving with a blood alcohol level greater than .10. As a result, the Department of Public Safety revoked his driver's license for one year. At the time of his accident Markel had two previous alcohol-related driving violations, one of which involved license revocation.

The City of Circle Pines suspended Markel after his license was revoked because he could no longer perform his normal job duties. On October 16, 1989, Markel applied to the Department of Public Safety for a limited license, which would allow him to drive for purposes of employment. He brought a letter from his supervisor to attest to the fact that he needed a driver's license for his work. A Department of Public Safety evaluator issued Markel a Class B limited license, which on its face restricted Markel from driving vehicles other than Class B vehicles owned by the City of Circle Pines. The only Class B vehicle the city owned was a dump truck. Markel went back to work for the city doing jobs that required driving the dump truck. On November 7, 1989, the city again suspended Markel until he could obtain a Class C limited license which would allow him to drive the city's van and pickup trucks. Although technically suspended, Markel continued working full-time for the city on jobs that required the use of the dump truck or that did not require driving. In early January, the city notified Markel that he would be dismissed if he could not obtain a Class C limited license. Markel was not able to obtain a Class C limited license and he was dismissed.

After his dismissal, Markel applied for unemployment benefits. A Department of Jobs and Training adjudicator denied Markel's claim, and a referee affirmed the adjudicator's decision on appeal. Upon further appeal, the Commissioner's representative amended one finding of fact and affirmed the referee's decision. Markel then petitioned for a writ of certiorari at the court of appeals, which affirmed the Commissioner's determination that Markel was discharged for misconduct.

When reviewing a decision of the Commissioner of Jobs and Training, this court's scope of review is very narrow. Findings of fact must be "viewed in the light most favorable to the decision, and if there is evidence reasonably tending to sustain them, they will not be disturbed." White v. Metropolitan Medical Center, 332 N.W.2d 25, 26 (Minn.1983). When reviewing questions of law, this court is not bound by the Commissioner's conclusions of law, but is free to exercise its independent judgment. Smith v. Employers' Overload Co., 314 N.W.2d 220, 221 (Minn.1981). The issue of whether a claimant is properly disqualified from the receipt of unemployment benefits is a question of law. Id.

In his appeal of the court of appeals decision Markel challenges two of the Commissioner's findings of fact, as well as the Commissioner's conclusion of law. Markel challenges the finding that, as a result of his accident, Markel was charged with driving with a blood alcohol level greater than .10, and ultimately pleaded guilty to that charge. The court of appeals determined that this finding was supported by Markel's own testimony in the record, and affirmed the Commissioner's finding. Markel, 465 N.W.2d at 410. The record of the hearing supports this finding and the decision of the court of appeals on this issue is affirmed.

Markel raises two new arguments in his brief, not raised below, which appear to challenge another of the Commissioner's findings of fact. The Commissioner determined that Markel's receipt of the alcohol-related driving citation, which resulted in the revocation of his license, was the reason Markel could not perform his normal job duties, and was the reason for his discharge. Markel argues that it was the Department of Public Safety's refusal to give him a limited license that would allow him to drive Class C vehicles that actually prevented him from performing his normal job duties. He also argues that he could have continued to work for the city, even without a Class C license, if he were assigned to repair gas lines, since the city always assigned two people to each truck sent to repair gas lines. These issues were not raised either at the administrative level or before the court of appeals. Fact issues not raised in an agency appeal will not be reviewed by this court. Reserve Mining Co., Babbit Division v. Gorecki, 316 N.W.2d 547, 549 (Minn.1982).

The question of law presented for this court's review is whether the conduct for which Markel was dismissed, inability to perform his normal job duties, due to loss of his driver's license because of an alcohol-related driving offense, is misconduct under Minn.Stat. § 268.09, subd. 1(b) (1990). To determine this matter of first impression, we review existing authority as to what constitutes misconduct justifying a denial of unemployment benefits. A person separated from employment may be disqualified from the receipt of unemployment benefits if "the individual was discharged for misconduct, not amounting to gross misconduct connected with work or for misconduct which interferes with and adversely affects employment." Minn.Stat. § 268.09, subd. 1(b) (1990). This court further defined misconduct in Tilseth v. Midwest Lumber Co., 295 Minn. 372, 204 N.W.2d 644 (1973), where we said:

"[T]he intended meaning of the term 'misconduct' * * * is limited to conduct evincing such wilful or wanton disregard of an employer's interests as is found in deliberate violations or disregard of standards of behavior which the employer has the right to expect of his employee, or in carelessness or negligence of such degree or recurrence as to manifest equal culpability, wrongful intent or evil design, or to show an intentional and substantial disregard of the employer's interests or of the employee's duties and obligations to his employer. On the other hand mere inefficiency, unsatisfactory conduct, failure in good performance as the result of inability or incapacity, inadvertencies or ordinary negligence in isolated instances, or good-faith errors in judgment or discretion are not to be deemed 'misconduct.' "

Tilseth, 295 Minn. at 374-75, 204 N.W.2d at 646 (1973), citing Boynton Cab Co. v. Neubeck, 237 Wis. 249, 259-60, 296 N.W. 636, 640 (1941).

The Commissioner determined, and the court of appeals agreed, that the City of Circle Pines discharged Markel for conduct which renders him ineligible for the receipt of unemployment benefits. We agree and hold that conduct which results in the loss of a license necessary for the performance of normal job duties is misconduct, within the meaning of Tilseth. As an employee whose ability to perform his job depended on his having a valid driver's license, Markel's behavior--drinking and driving--simply does not come within the Tilseth exceptions for inadvertence, negligence or errors in judgment. While some unintentional circumstances which...