Merriott v. Shearer Lumber Products
| Decision Date | 27 September 1995 |
| Docket Number | No. 21002,21002 |
| Citation | 127 Idaho 620,903 P.2d 1317 |
| Parties | , 11 IER Cases 90 Steven R. MERRIOTT, SSN 545-64-0385, Claimant-Respondent, v. SHEARER LUMBER PRODUCTS, Employer-Appellant, and State of Idaho, Department of Employment, Defendant-Respondent. . Coeur d'Alene, April 1995 Term |
| Court | Idaho Supreme Court |
Randall, Blake & Cox, Lewiston, for appellant. Jay P. Gaskill argued.
Alan G. Lance, Attorney General; Jane M. Newby, Deputy Attorney General (argued), Boise, for respondent Department of Employment.
Steven R. Merriott (Merriott) was employed by Shearer Lumber Products (Shearer) as a part-time employee from May 22, 1992 to February 16, 1993. On January 1, 1993, Shearer began requiring all part-time employees to submit to drug tests. Prior to that time, Shearer tested part-time employees only when an employee appeared impaired or was hired as a full-time employee.
Merriott was required to take a drug test on February 9, 1993. Prior to this test, Shearer had not observed any conduct on the part of Merriott that caused Shearer to believe that Merriott had ever been under the influence of drugs or alcohol while at work. When the test returned a positive result for T.H.C. (marijuana), Merriott admitted to Shearer that he had smoked marijuana on February 7, 1993, Merriott's day off. Shearer fired Merriott on February 16, 1993, claiming that Merriott's failure to pass the drug test violated Shearer's substance abuse policy. That policy, as provided in Shearer's employee handbook, provides:
The use, sale, possession, purchase or transfer of non-prescription drugs on company premises or while on company business is prohibited. Employees are prohibited from being under the influence of any chemical substance or alcohol during working hours. Such substance [sic] can impair the fitness of an employee to perform their work. Any violation of this policy will subject the employee to immediate discharge.
Merriott filed a claim for unemployment insurance benefits with the Idaho Department of Employment (the Department). In an eligibility determination dated March 2, 1993, Merriott was found to be ineligible for unemployment benefits on the grounds that he had been discharged for employment related misconduct. Merriott appealed the eligibility determination to an appeals examiner, who concluded that Shearer failed to establish that Merriott was fired for employment related misconduct. Shearer appealed the appeals examiner's decision to the Industrial Commission of the State of Idaho (the Commission). The Commission affirmed decision of the appeals examiner, concluding that, because the record presented no evidence that Merriott was under the influence of alcohol or drugs while at work, Merriott did not violate Shearer's substance abuse policy. After Shearer filed a motion for reconsideration, the Commission issued a supplemental order rejecting Shearer's argument that testing positive for T.H.C. constitutes a per se violation of Shearer's substance abuse policy.
This Court reviews decisions of the Industrial Commission for errors of law Hart v. Deary High School, 126 Idaho 550, 552, 887 P.2d 1057, 1059 (1994), and to determine whether the Commission's findings are supported by substantial and competent evidence. Lethrud v. State, 126 Idaho 560, 563, 887 P.2d 1067, 1070 (1995). Whether an employee's behavior constitutes misconduct, rendering that employee ineligible for unemployment benefits under I.C. § 72-1366(e), is a question of fact. Taylor v. Burley Care Ctr., 121 Idaho 792, 793, 828 P.2d 821, 822 (1991). The Commission's conclusion in this regard will therefore be upheld if it is supported by substantial and competent evidence in the record. Id.
Misconduct within the meaning of I.C. § 72-1366(e) requires a " 'willful, intentional disregard of the employer's interest, deliberate violation of the employer's rules, or disregard of standards of behavior which the employer has the right to expect from its employees.' " Laundry v. Franciscan Health Care Ctr., 125 Idaho 279, 282, 869 P.2d 1374, 1377 (1994) (quoting Johns v. S.H. Kress & Co., 78 Idaho 544, 548, 307 P.2d 217, 219 (1957)). This Court has explained that "[t]he test for misconduct in standard-of-behavior cases is as follows: (1) whether the employee's conduct fell below the standard of behavior expected by the employer; and (2) whether the employer's expectation was objectively reasonable in the particular case." Puckett v. Idaho Dep't of Corrections, 107 Idaho 1022, 1023-24, 695 P.2d 407, 408-09 (1985). This Court in Davis v. Howard O. Miller Co., 107 Idaho 1092, 1094, 695 P.2d 1231, 1234 (1984), approved the appellant's assertion that:
some expectations and duties "flow normally from an employment relationship." Other expectations however, do not "flow naturally." If certain practices or expectations are not common among employees in general or within a particular enterprise, and have not been communicated by the employer to the employee, they cannot serve as a proper basis for a charge of employee misconduct.
The Davis Court held that:
[t]o prevail in a showing of misconduct it was necessary for Miller to show that either the practice of gas station managers temporarily absenting themselves without notifying the head office, by its very nature, naturally falls "below the standard of behavior expected by the employer," Matthews [v. Bucyrus Erie Co., 101 Idaho 657, 619 P.2d 1110 (1980) ], supra, or that he had warned his managers that this practice was unacceptable and against company policy. He showed neither.
Id. at 1095, 695 P.2d at 1235.
The Commission concluded that Shearer's substance abuse policy prohibited employees "from being under the influence of any chemical substance or alcohol during working hours[,]" without reference to non-working hours. The Commission noted that Shearer presented no evidence that Merriott was impaired while at work, nor was Merriott informed that use of controlled substances during non-working hours would violate Shearer's policy. Because there was no evidence that Merriott did not comply with Shearer's communicated substance abuse policy, the Commission concluded that Merriott was not discharged for employment-related misconduct.
Substantial and competent evidence supports the Commission's findings. The record presents no evidence that Merriott was impaired by marijuana during working hours. Shearer's substance abuse policy prohibits impairment during working hours, and no other expectation was communicated to Merriott.
The record presents substantial and competent evidence to support the Commission's conclusion that Shearer failed to communicate its expectations to Merriott. Shearer therefore could not require Merriott to comply with its uncommunicated expectations. In this instance it was necessary for the employer's expectations to be communicated to the employee to be reasonable. The Commission's conclusion that Merriott is eligible for unemployment benefits is affirmed. Costs on appeal to respondents.
I respectfully dissent from the Court's opinion.
In my view the employer Shearer could define the term "under the influence of any chemical substance or alcohol during working hours" as equivalent to testing positive for a controlled substance in a drug test administered during working hours. The administration of the drug test was Shearer's chosen means of implementing its substance abuse policy. The purpose of the policy is to:
prohibit...
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