Schmidgall v. FilmTec Corp.

• Decision Date: 23 May 2002
• Docket Number: No. C8-01-4.,C8-01-4.
• Citation: 644 N.W.2d 801
• Parties: Wanda J. SCHMIDGALL, Petitioner, Appellant, v. FILMTEC CORP, Respondent, Commissioner of Economic Security, Respondent.
• Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

644 N.W.2d 801

Wanda J. SCHMIDGALL, Petitioner, Appellant, v. FILMTEC CORP, Respondent, Commissioner of Economic Security, Respondent.

No. C8-01-4.

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

May 23, 2002.

Douglas A. Hedin, Elizabeth A. Glidden, Hedin & Goldberg, P.A., Minneapolis, for Appellant.

Chad W. Strathman, Marko J. Mrkonich, Littler Mendelson, P.C., Minneapolis, for Respondent, FilmTec. Philip B. Byrne, Kent E. Todd, Minnesota Department of Economic Security, Saint Paul, for Respondent, Commissioner.

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

OPINION

RUSSELL A. ANDERSON, Justice.

Wanda J. Schmidgall was discharged from employment with FilmTec Corporation for violating FilmTec's same-shift injury reporting policy. She was denied unemployment benefits by the Commissioner, Department of Economic Security, because she was discharged for employment misconduct. The court of appeals affirmed. Because we conclude under the facts of this case that Schmidgall's conduct constituted employment misconduct, we affirm.

I.

FilmTec is a manufacturing company that produces a thin film composite membrane or "element" used in water purification systems. Schmidgall was employed by FilmTec from June 3, 1999, through July 14, 2000, when she was discharged for violating FilmTec's safety policy requiring that employees report any accident or injury to their supervisor and the site safety coordinator during the same shift in which it occurs.¹ FilmTec's employee handbook sets forth the reporting policy, which provides:

Any accident occurring at work must be reported to your supervisor and the site Safety Coordinator during the shift the incident occurs. First aid may be rendered or you may be sent to a physician for treatment. All injuries, no matter how slight, must be reported so that:

1. You are assured of getting proper medical attention.

2. A complete record of all accidents is maintained for review and evaluation.

3. You are protected by Worker's Compensation Insurance for work related injuries.

(Emphasis in original.) Schmidgall received a copy of the employee handbook during new employee orientation, as do all new employees.

On September 22, 1999, at the end of her shift, Schmidgall injured her shoulder and back as she was in the process of leaving the employer's premises. The next day, she filed a report of the injury. Her employer determined that her report was late and coached her on the importance of reporting any injury to supervision immediately. On May 22, 2000, Schmidgall again injured her back at work. Although there were approximately four and one-half hours remaining on her shift, she did not report the injury until the next day. She was given a written warning for violating the same-shift reporting policy, which she refused to sign, and cautioned that a failure to abide by company policy could result in termination of employment.

On Wednesday, July 5, 2000, Schmidgall again injured her back at work shortly before lunch while working at a cutting table. When her back pain increased following lunch, she stopped her work at the cutting table and instead performed light-duty tasks until the end of the shift, which was at 2:30 p.m. When her back did not improve overnight, she returned to work the next day and reported the injury to her supervisor, who sent her home. She called in sick the next day and the following Monday when she went to see a doctor for her back. She returned to work on Tuesday, July 11, 2000, and completed a written report of her injury. She was suspended and, following review by management, she was discharged for violating the reporting policy. On this evidence the commissioner determined Schmidgall was disqualified from the receipt of unemployment benefits because of employment misconduct. The court of appeals affirmed. Schmidgall v. FilmTec Corp., No. C8-01-4, 2001 WL 800048, at *1 (Minn.App. July 17, 2001).

II.

The issue before us is whether the record supports the commissioner's determination that Schmidgall was discharged for employment misconduct and was therefore disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits because she had been discharged for violations of an employment policy requiring the report of any injury during the shift in which it occurred. We review the commissioner's factual findings in the light most favorable to the commissioner's decision and will not disturb them as long as there is evidence that reasonably tends to sustain those findings. Ress v. Abbott Northwestern Hosp., Inc., 448 N.W.2d 519, 523 (Minn. 1989). Whether an employee engaged in conduct that disqualifies the employee from unemployment benefits is a mixed question of fact and law. See Colburn v. Pine Portage Madden Bros., Inc., 346 N.W.2d 159, 161 (Minn.1984)

. Whether a particular act constitutes disqualifying misconduct is a question of law, which this court reviews de novo. Ress, 448 N.W.2d at 523.

Misconduct for disqualification purposes is "any intentional conduct, on the job or off the job, that disregards the standards of behavior that an employer has the right to expect of the employee or disregards the employee's duties and obligations to the employer." Minn.Stat. § 268.095, subd. 6(a) (2000). Employment misconduct is also "negligent or indifferent conduct, on the job or off the job, that demonstrates a substantial lack of concern for the employment." Id. As a general rule, refusing to abide by an employer's reasonable policies and requests amounts to disqualifying misconduct. See McGowan v. Executive Express Transp. Enters., Inc., 420 N.W.2d 592, 596 (Minn.1988)

.

Schmidgall argues that Film-Tec's reporting requirement is unreasonable, undermining the policies embedded in the Workers' Compensation Act that allow a claimant 30 days to furnish an employer with notice of a work injury and that also temper the harshness of a statutory bar to compensation by recognizing a variety of excuses for a delay in giving notice. See Minn.Stat. § 176.141 (2000);²Freyholtz v. Blackduck Sch. Dist. No. 32, 613 N.W.2d 757, 758 (Minn.2000). Specifically, she argues that even minor deviations from the same-shift reporting policy effectively compel employees with legitimate work injuries to choose between claiming workers' compensation benefits and maintaining employment. FilmTec argues that its reporting policy is reasonable in that it assures proper medical attention, provides a complete record of all accidents, and facilitates the assertion of workers' compensation rights through prompt notice of injury to the employer. The workers' compensation notice requirement is aimed at enabling the employer to furnish immediate medical attention in the hope of minimizing the seriousness of the injury and protecting the employer by permitting an investigation of the claim soon after the injury. Kling v. St. Barnabas Hosp., 291 Minn. 257, 261, 190 N.W.2d 674, 677 (1971). In view of the purposes of FilmTec's policy as articulated within the policy statement itself, as well as the policy's practical effect of assuring workplace safety by allowing FilmTec to immediately identify and address hazardous conditions endangering other employees, we cannot say that FilmTec's same-shift reporting policy is facially unreasonable.³

At the same time, we understand there may be situations in which delay in furnishing notice of injury within the time constraints of the same shift ought to be excused, such as a failure to recognize an injury in its early or latent stage. It is at least arguable that what FilmTec determined to be a day-late notice as to Schmidgall's first injury might have been excusable. But FilmTec did not terminate Schmidgall's employment until after she failed to make a timely report of the third injury, following individual instruction and written warning.⁴ On the limited record presented here, we cannot conclude that FilmTec's same-shift reporting policy was unreasonable in its application.⁵

Finally, relying on Tilseth v. Midwest Lumber Co., 295 Minn. 372, 374-75, 204 N.W.2d 644, 646 (1973), Schmidgall argues her failure to make immediate reports of injury was not employment misconduct because she did not have the requisite culpability. Although not raised below, the commissioner argues that Tilseth is superseded by Minn.Stat. § 268.095, subd. 6 (2000), which, the commissioner says, contemplates a less restrictive standard that focuses on the nature of the conduct and not on the culpability of the employee, and that in any event, the conduct in this case did amount to disqualifying misconduct under Tilseth and its progeny. Because we conclude Schmidgall was disqualified for misconduct under Tilseth, we need not reach whether Tilseth has been superseded by subsequent legislation, an issue decided by the court of appeals in Houston v. Int'l Data Transfer Corp., No. C1-00-2151, 2001 WL 856262, at *2 (Minn.App.), rev. granted (Minn. Sept. 25, 2001).

Under Tilseth, 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 * * *." Tilseth, 295 Minn. at 374-75, 204 N.W.2d at 646. We have said that the issue is not whether the employer can choose to terminate the employment relationship, but rather "whether, now that [the employee has been] terminated, there should be unemployment compensation, a determination which focuses on the willfulness of the [employee's] behavior." Auger v. Gillette Co., 303 N.W.2d 255, 257 (Minn. 1981). "Because the nature of an employer's interest will vary depending upon the job, what constitutes disregard of that interest, and therefore misconduct, will also vary." Id.

A single incident can constitute misconduct when an employee deliberately chooses a course of conduct that is adverse to the employer. Ress, 448 N.W.2d at 524 (citing Colburn, 346 N.W.2d at 161). When an employee's refusal to carry out...