Maynard v. Rivera, 10–3476.
| Citation | 95 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 44461,162 Lab.Cas. P 61242,33 IER Cases 1057,675 F.3d 225 |
| Decision Date | 02 April 2012 |
| Docket Number | No. 10–3476.,10–3476. |
| Parties | Desmond L. MAYNARD, Appellant v. Carmelo RIVERA, Commissioner of the Virgin Islands Department of Labor; Cheryl Martin–Liburd. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (3rd Circuit) |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Shawn E. Maynard–Hahnfeld, Esq. (argued), Law Offices of Desmond L. Maynard, St. Thomas, VI, for Appellant, Desmond Maynard.
Tina Gillespie La Borde, Esq. (argued), Legal Services of the Virgin Islands, Inc., St. Thomas, VI, for Appellee, Cheryl Martin–Liburd.
Before: FISHER, GREENAWAY, JR., and ROTH, Circuit Judges.
This appeal requires us to determine whether the individual needs of an employee can justify noncompliance with an employer's reasonable administrative order. The Virgin Islands Wrongful Discharge Act (the “WDA”) permits the termination of an employee “who wilfully and intentionally disobeys reasonable and lawful rules, orders, and instructions of the employer.” V.I.Code Ann. tit. 24, § 76(a)(4). Here, in lieu of providing his employees with a paycheck, Appellant Desmond Maynard (“Maynard”) paid his employees in cash, requiring that they endorse an unsigned paycheck as a receipt of payment. After receiving cash remuneration one week in September 1996, Appellee Cheryl Martin–Liburd (“Martin–Liburd”), an employee of Maynard's, refused to endorse the paycheck presented to her as a receipt for Maynard. Her refusal led Maynard to fire her for noncompliance. At a hearing before the Virgin Islands Department of Labor (“DOL”), Martin–Liburd testified that she needed a signed paycheck to apply for and receive government financial assistance. She had never shared this information with Maynard before the hearing.
The Appellate Division of the District Court held that, given Martin–Liburd's need for written verification of her income, Maynard's order was unreasonable and that Martin–Liburd's resulting termination was in violation of the WDA. The Appellate Division also awarded Martin–Liburd back pay. We hold that the Appellate Division erred by considering Martin–Liburd's individual needs when determining the reasonableness of Maynard's order. Maynard's directive was an archetypal administrative order for which Martin–Liburd's compliance was not dependent on her wants or desires. We will reverse the Appellate Division's July 19, 2010 Order.
Maynard operated a legal practice in the Virgin Islands—the Law Offices of Desmond L. Maynard. The firm had several employees. On each pay day, which occurred on Mondays, Maynard would provide his employees with a paycheck. Employees would typically spend their one hour lunch break travelling to and from a local bank to cash their paychecks. Based on the proximity of the bank, coupled with long lines, this process often caused employees to exceed their allotted one hour break for lunch.1
Faced with complaints from his employees about time expended going to the bank and his desire to decrease unproductive time spent by his employees, Maynard decided to alter the manner in which he paid his employees. He began paying his employees in cash, whenever possible,2 and then either simultaneously or soon thereafter handing his employees an unsigned paycheck, which they endorsed as a receipt of payment.
In March 1995, Martin–Liburd commenced employment as a legal secretary at Maynard's firm. When she began work there, he had already implemented the cash payment policy. On many occasions, Martin–Liburd was paid in cash and endorsed the unsigned paycheck as written proof of payment. The exchange of cash for an unsigned paycheck was a regular occurrence.
On September 30, 1996, Martin–Liburd was once again paid in cash. That same day, Martin–Liburd was presented with a paycheck not signed by Maynard, the payor, and asked to endorse the paycheck and return it to the office manager. Martin–Liburd refused. Maynard approached Martin–Liburd to discuss her refusal to sign the paycheck. Martin–Liburd replied that the paycheck was invalid without Maynard's signature. Maynard persisted that the paycheck functioned merely as a receipt.
On October 1, 1996, Maynard again approached Martin–Liburd and asked her once more to endorse the paycheck, as requested. Martin–Liburd again refused. In response, Maynard informed her that she would be terminated if she did not comply. After a verbal disagreement between the two, Martin–Liburd left the building. That day was Martin–Liburd's last at Maynard's firm.
Following her discharge, Martin–Liburd filed a complaint against Maynard with the DOL, alleging that she was wrongfully discharged in violation of the WDA. V.I.Code Ann. tit. 24, §§ 76–79. At the DOL hearing, Martin–Liburd stated, for the first time, that she needed a signed paycheck from Maynard so that she could apply for and receive financial assistance from the Women, Infants, and Children Program (“WIC”), operating under the Virgin Islands Department of Health, and food stamps.3 Martin–Liburd contended that she was ineligible for WIC support without verification of her income. It is unclear from the testimony, however, whether Martin–Liburd ever communicated to Maynard that she desired a signed copy of the paycheck to submit to WIC. 4 Nevertheless, the WIC certification form introduced at the hearing indicates that proof of income could be established through a number of means, including: (1) an unemployment check; (2) paycheck stubs for all working members of the household; or (3) the most recent W2 form. Martin–Liburd testified that she never provided Maynard or his office manager with a copy of this form.
On February 19, 1997, Carmelo Rivera, the DOL Commissioner, found that Martin–Liburd was wrongfully discharged and awarded her back pay. Maynard filed a petition for a writ of review with the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands, pursuant to V.I.Code Ann. tit. 5, § 1421. On August 23, 2005, the Superior Court affirmed the DOL's decision. The Superior Court held that Maynard's order was unreasonable because it denied Martin–Liburd proof of her income necessary to apply for and receive WIC assistance, rendering her termination in violation of the WDA. Maynard appealed to the District Court for the Virgin Islands, Appellate Division (the “Appellate Division”).5
On July 19, 2010, the Appellate Division concluded that “reasonable minds could disagree as to whether Maynard's order to Martin–Liburd was reasonable” under the WDA. Maynard v. Rivera, No. 2005/171, 2010 WL 2851616, at *3 (D.Vi. July 19, 2010). Given this disagreement, the Appellate Division held that the deferential standard of review applicable to evidentiary findings by the DOL did not permit reversal of the Superior Court's decision. Id. at *4. The Appellate Division also affirmed the award of back pay. Id.
In dissent, Chief Judge Gómez argued that the majority created a “new wrongful discharge standard” in which the needs of the employee governed the determination of whether an employer's order was reasonable. Id. at *4 (Gómez, C.J., dissenting). Chief Judge Gómez argued that Maynard's order was a classic administrative order, which courts uniformly have agreed are reasonable. Id. at *5.
The Superior Court had appellate jurisdiction to review the DOL's findings under V.I.Code Ann. tit. 5, § 1421. The Appellate Division exercised appellate jurisdiction over the Superior Court's order, pursuant to 48 U.S.C. § 1613a(a). We have jurisdiction to review the Appellate Division's Order, pursuant to 48 U.S.C. § 1613a(c).
In reviewing the Appellate Division's Order, we employ the same standard of review as that applied by the Superior Court, the first tribunal to review the DOL's decision. Tyler v. Armstrong, 365 F.3d 204, 208 (3d Cir.2004). The Superior Court reviewed the DOL's factual findings under the substantial evidence standard. V.I.Code Ann. tit. 24, § 70(b). We, too, employ this standard of review as to the Appellate Division's factual determinations, inquiring whether there existed “relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.” Soubik v. Dir., Office of Workers' Comp. Programs, 366 F.3d 226, 233 (3d Cir.2004). As with other legal inquiries, the Appellate Division's interpretation of the WDA is reviewed de novo. See Bryan v. Ponce, No. 2008–004, 2009 WL 586733, at *2 (V.I. Mar. 6, 2009).
The WDA provides that an employer can lawfully fire an employee for one of nine enumerated reasons. V.I.Code Ann. tit. 24, § 76(a). As a result, the WDA amounts to a “statutory abrogation of the common law rule of at-will employment applicable in the Virgin Islands.” Kretzer v. Hess Oil V.I. Corp., 218 F.Supp.2d 724, 728 (D.Vi.2002). A presumption exists “that an employee has been wrongfully discharged if discharged for any reason other than those listed in Section 76(a).” Gonzalez v. AMR, 549 F.3d 219, 222 (3d Cir.2008) (citation omitted); see also V.I.Code Ann. tit. 24, § 76(c). While an employer is prohibited from firing an employee for any reason not listed, the WDA “cover[s] all or almost all legitimate reasons for discharge.” St. Thomas–St. John Hotel & Tourism Ass'n v. Gov't of the U.S. V.I., 218 F.3d 232, 244 (3d Cir.2000).
At issue in this appeal is the fourth justification that permits the termination of an employee “who wilfully and intentionally disobeys reasonable and lawful rules, orders, and instructions of the employer.” 6 V.I.Code Ann. tit. 24, § 76(a)(4).
Before we determine whether Martin–Liburd's termination was in violation of the WDA, we must first address the analytical framework governing her claim.
The parties assert that the Supreme Court's three-prong test for evaluating federal employment discrimination claims, established in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973), applies with...
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