Mills v. Baldwin Transfer Co.
| Decision Date | 04 October 2013 |
| Docket Number | 2120395. |
| Citation | 148 So.3d 433 |
| Parties | Samuel MILLS, Jr. v. BALDWIN TRANSFER COMPANY, INC., and Alabama Department of Labor. |
| Court | Alabama Court of Civil Appeals |
Larry C. Moorer, Mobile, for appellant.
Joseph S. Ammons, gen. counsel, and Holly T. Sharp, asst. gen. counsel, Alabama Department of Labor, for appellee.
Samuel Mills, Jr., appeals from a judgment of the Mobile Circuit Court (“the trial court”) denying him unemployment-compensation benefits.
Most of the facts in this case are undisputed. The record indicates that Mills, who was 72 years old at the time of the trial, worked for five years as a truck driver for Baldwin Transfer Company, Inc. (“Baldwin”). In 2010, Mills developed an ear infection. Mills does not suggest that the infection was caused or aggravated by his job, but the infection did cause him to suffer dizziness and vertigo. As a result, for two periods in 2010, Mills was absent from work at Baldwin pursuant to the federal Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”).
Before a driver for Baldwin can return to work after a medical leave of absence, Baldwin requires him or her to undergo a physical examination that complies with the requirements of the United States Department of Transportation (“DOT”). The physicians at Northside Industrial (“the clinic”) are certified to perform DOT physicals, and Baldwin retains the clinic to determine whether its drivers are cleared to return to work.
On January 19, 2011, Dr. Jason Valentine, a physician at the clinic, examined Mills on behalf of Baldwin and determined that Mills was not physically fit to return to work as a driver. Specifically, Dr. Valentine restricted Mills from driving any commercial vehicle or from climbing for one year, at which time, Mills could be reevaluated. Because of the restrictions imposed by Dr. Valentine, Mills was unable to continue working as a truck driver. Baldwin did not have any other type of work for Mills to do.
On February 10, 2011, Mills visited Dr. Daniel Polansky, who determined that Mills was physically able to return to work. Because Dr. Polansky was not DOT certified, Baldwin would not accept the release. Baldwin told Mills that, to be able to return to work before the yearlong restriction on his driving ended, he could be reexamined by a physician at the clinic, but he would have to do so at his own expense. Mills would not pay the $45 reexamination fee, and instead he decided to comply with Dr. Valentine's driving restriction.
On February 20, 2011, Mills filed a claim for unemployment-compensation benefits with the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations, now known as the Alabama Department of Labor (“the department”).1 In completing the paperwork required for the claim, Mills indicated that he was not able to work and that he was not available to accept full-time work because of other obligations. Additionally, he did not contact the department within four days of filing his claim to provide additional information, as the department had instructed. The department denied Mills's request for benefits, determining that, because he was not able to perform work for which he was qualified based on past training or experience, he was not eligible to receive unemployment-compensation benefits pursuant to § 25–4–77(a)(3), Ala.Code 1975.
Mills appealed the determination to the department's Board of Appeals (“the board”). The department scheduled a hearing on the issues whether Mills was able and available to work and whether he had left Baldwin voluntarily without good cause connected to his job. After a hearing conducted by telephone, the hearing officer for the board issued a decision in which she determined that Mills had voluntarily quit his job “when he failed to return to work and get a physical required by the employer from the company doctor.” The hearing officer stated that Mills's reason for leaving work was “of a personal nature and no work reason was established.” Therefore, the hearing officer concluded, Mills was disqualified from receiving unemployment-compensation benefits, pursuant to § 25–4–78(2), Ala.Code 1975.
In her decision, the hearing officer pointed out that a claimant is not eligible to receive benefits if, among other things, he or she is “physically and mentally unable to perform work of a character which she is qualified to perform by past experience or training.” The hearing officer found that Mills had called the department's “inquiry line” on February 28, 2011, and provided information indicating that he had become able to work as of February 14, 2011. Therefore, the hearing officer concluded, Mills met the department's eligibility requirements as of February 14, 2011. However, the decision continued, his disqualification for benefits would remain in effect until he obtained a job and then subsequently met the statutory qualifications to be eligible to receive unemployment compensation.
Mills appealed the hearing officer's decision to the trial court for a trial de novo. A trial was held on April 17, 2012. In addition to the facts set forth above, the evidence indicated that, at the end of the one-year restriction period imposed by Dr. Valentine, Mills did not return to Baldwin to make himself available for work. Mills testified that, at the time of the trial, he was looking for work. He also said that, since the yearlong restriction had ended, he had been seeking a job in which he could drive a truck locally.
After the trial, the trial court entered a judgment denying Mills's claim for unemployment-compensation benefits. In explaining its decision, the trial court wrote:
“Here, [Mills] failed to return to Baldwin and offer himself back for work at the expiration of the one (1) year restriction and as such, the Court finds that [Mills] voluntarily quit his job without good cause connected with work and is therefore disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits pursuant to Code of Alabama § 25–4–78(2).”
Mills appealed to this court from the trial court's judgment.
On appeal, Mills asserts that the trial court erred in denying him unemployment-compensation benefits for the period beginning on February 20, 2011, when he first applied for benefits, and ending on January 19, 2012, when his one-year driving restriction ended and he admittedly failed to return to Baldwin.
State Dep't of Indus. Relations v. Bryant, 697 So.2d 469, 470 (Ala.Civ.App.1997). Director, Dep't of Indus. Relations v. Ford, 700 So.2d 1388, 1390 (Ala.Civ.App.1997).
The statute relied upon by the trial court in this case is § 25–4–78(2), which provides, in pertinent part:
For the reasons discussed below, we agree with Mills that the trial court's finding that he failed to return to Baldwin and offer himself for employment cannot serve as the basis for denying him benefits for the year beginning on January 19, 2011, when Dr. Valentine restricted Mills from working as a commercial truck driver. We note that, on appeal, Mills concedes that, because he did not return to Baldwin at the end of his restriction period, he is not entitled to receive unemployment-compensation benefits from January 2012 forward.
To review the propriety of the trial court's determination, we must construe the meaning of § 25–4–78(2) a.1.(ii).
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