Stahl v. Hank's Cheesecakes, LLC

• Decision Date: 10 May 2016
• Docket Number: No. ED 103466,ED 103466
• Citation: 489 S.W.3d 338
• Parties: Robin Stahl, Respondent, v. Hank's Cheesecakes, LLC, Appellant, and Division of Employment Security, Respondent.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

489 S.W.3d 338

Robin Stahl, Respondent,

v. Hank's Cheesecakes, LLC, Appellant,andDivision of Employment Security, Respondent.

No. ED 103466

Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, DIVISION FOUR .

FILED: May 10, 2016

Alan J. Agathen, 130 S. Bemison, Suite 610, St. Louis, MO 63105, for appellant.

Larry R. Ruhmann, 421 East Dunklin St., Jefferson City, MO 65101, for respondent.

KURT S. ODENWALD, Judge

Introduction

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission (“the Commission”) granted the respondent, Robin Stahl (“Stahl”), unemployment benefits after it found that she was discharged from her employment by appellant Hank's Cheesecakes (“Hank's”). Hank's appeals, arguing that the Commission erred in awarding Stahl unemployment benefits because she was terminated for misconduct by intentionally striking a co-employee. The Commission found that Stahl's conduct, while a justification for her termination, did not rise to the level of misconduct warranting her disqualification of unemployment benefits. The issue presented by this appeal is whether an employee's conduct of intentionally striking a fellow employee on company time and on the company's premises necessarily constitutes misconduct that disqualifies the employee from unemployment benefits. Because Stahl's action in hitting her co-employee did not violate an express work rule of Hank's, and, when considering the context of the incident, did not demonstrate a disregard of the standard of behavior which Hank's had the right to expect of her, we find no reversible error in the Commission's decision and affirm the award of benefits to Stahl.

Factual and Procedural History

Hank's is a small, family business located in St. Louis County, Missouri. Stahl was employed as an assistant baker at Hank's from November 12, 2014, to April 8, 2015. On April 7, 2014, Stahl was talking with a co-worker, Cari Dalton (“Dalton”), in her work area when Mike Jones (“Jones”), another co-worker, walked by Stahl and Dalton and said, “Are you talking about getting sand in your vagina again?” Both Dalton and Stahl heard the comment. Stahl claimed to be offended by the remark and immediately responded by hitting Jones with the back of her hand on his buttocks. Stahl claims that she instinctively responded to Jones's remark which she found vulgar and inappropriate. Jones characterized the striking as “more malicious than just a love tap,” and as an attempt by Stahl to punish him “like a mother would smack their child if they did something wrong.” Dalton, the person to whom the comment was directed, said that she was not offended by the comment, but that Stahl was offended and angry, and that Stahl hit Jones in the buttocks “pretty hard” with a pan. The incident lasted about three to four seconds. Stahl was discharged from her employment on April 8, 2014, for physically hitting Jones and lying about the incident that occurred on Tuesday, April 7, 2015.¹

Stahl timely filed for unemployment benefits. Hank's filed a written protest of Stahl's claim for benefits on the grounds that Stahl was discharged for misconduct in connection with her employment. A deputy for the Missouri Division of Employment Security (“the Division”) determined that Stahl was not disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits because she was discharged on April 8, 2015, but not for misconduct connected with the work. Hank's appealed the deputy's determination to the Division's Appeals Tribunal. A hearing was held by means of a telephone conference on June 18, 2015. The hearing was continued to July 9, 2015, at which time it was concluded. The Appeals Tribunal affirmed the deputy's determination and found that “[t]he claimant is not disqualified for benefits by reason of the claimant's discharge from work on April 8, 2015.”

Hank's appealed the decision of the Appeals Tribunal to the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission, which affirmed and adopted the Decision of the Appeals Tribunal. Hank's now appeals to this Court.

Point on Appeal

Hank's raises only one point on appeal. Hank's contends that the Commission erred in affirming the award of unemployment compensation benefits to Stahl because there is insufficient competent evidence to support the award as the facts demonstrate that Stahl was guilty of misconduct when she intentionally struck a co-employee in anger.

Standard of Review and Burden of Proof

Article V, section 18 of the Missouri Constitution provides for judicial review of the Commission's decisions to determine whether they “are supported by competent and substantial evidence upon the whole record.” Mo. Const. art. V, § 18, Under Section 288.210² :

The findings of the commission as to the facts, if supported by competent and substantial evidence and in the absence of fraud, shall be conclusive, and the jurisdiction of the appellate court shall be confined to questions of law. The court, on appeal, may modify, reverse, remand for rehearing, or set aside the decision of the commission on the following grounds and no other:

(1) That the commission acted without or in excess of its powers;

(2) That the decision was procured by fraud;

(3) That the facts found by the commission do not support the award; or

(4) That there was no sufficient competent evidence in the record to warrant the making of the award. An appeal shall not act as a supersedeas or stay unless the commission shall so order.

“Whether the award is supported by competent and substantial evidence is judged by examining the evidence in the context of the whole record.” Hampton v. Big Boy Steel Erection, 121 S.W.3d 220, 223 (Mo. banc 2003). “This Court defers to the Commission on issues involving the credibility of witnesses and the weight given to testimony,” Johnson v. Denton Const. Co., 911 S.W.2d 286, 288 (Mo. banc 1995), but in so doing we do not view “the evidence and all reasonable inferences drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the award.” Hampton, 121 S.W.3d at 223. This Court reviews questions of law de novo, and “[w]hether the Commission's findings support the conclusion that a claimant engaged in misconduct connected with his or her work is a question of law.” Fendler v . Hudson Servs., 370 S.W.3d 585, 588–89 (Mo. banc 2012) (internal citations omitted).

When the Commission adopts the decision of the Appeals Tribunal, the Court of Appeals considers the Appeals Tribunal's decision to be the decision of the Commission for purposes of review. White v. St. Louis Teachers Union. Div. of Emp't Sec., 217 S.W.3d 382, 389 (Mo.App.W.D. 2007).

“In general, a claimant bears the burden of demonstrating that he or she is entitled to unemployment benefits; however, when the employer claims that the applicant was discharged for misconduct, the burden shifts to the employer to prove the claim of misconduct connected with work.” White v. Div. of Emp't Sec., 431 S.W.3d 583, 586 (Mo.App.W.D. 2014) (internal citations omitted). As a result, Hank's had the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that Ms. Stahl was fired for misconduct. Id.

Discussion

A claimant is disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits if he was discharged for misconduct connected with work. Section 288.050.2 (Cum. Supp. 2015). Misconduct is defined as:

[C]onduct or failure to act in a manner that is connected with work, regardless of whether such conduct or failure to act occurs at the workplace or during work hours, which shall include:

(a) Conduct or a failure to act demonstrating knowing disregard of the employer's interest or a knowing violation of the standards which the employer expects of his or her employee;

(b) Conduct or a failure to act demonstrating carelessness or negligence in such degree or recurrence as to manifest culpability, wrongful intent, or a knowing disregard of the employer's interest or of the employee's duties and obligations to the employer;

(c) A violation of an employer's no-call, no-show policy; chronic absenteeism or tardiness in violation of a known policy of the employer; or two or more unapproved absences following a written reprimand or warning relating to an unapproved absence unless such absences are protected by law;

(d) A knowing violation of a state standard or regulation by an employee of an employer licensed or certified by the state, which would cause the employer to be sanctioned or have its license or certification suspended or revoked; or

(e) A violation of an employer's rule, unless the employee can demonstrate that:

a. He or she did not know, and could not reasonably know, of the rule's requirements;

b. The rule is not lawful; or

c. The rule is not fairly or consistently enforced.

Section 288.030.1(23) (Cum. Supp. 2015). The facts are not disputed that Stahl struck a coworker in the workplace in an immediate response to a vulgar remark made by that co-worker. The entire incident was brief, occurring in a matter of seconds. While there is some discrepancy in the testimony as to whether Stahl struck Jones with the back of her hand or a kitchen pan, the referee found Stahl's testimony more credible than the witnesses presented by Hank's. The referee found that Stahl attempted to slap Jones on his hip with her hand, but inadvertently hit him on the buttocks. Hank's posits that regardless of whether Stahl struck Jones with her hand or a kitchen pan, Stahl's intentional striking of a co-worker in the workplace demonstrates “a knowing disregard of the employer's interest or a knowing violation of the standards which the employer expects of his or her employee” and therefore constitutes misconduct under Section 288.030.1(23)(a). We disagree.

While we do not suggest that intentionally striking a co-employee in the workplace may never constitute disqualifying misconduct as defined by Missouri statute, we are not inclined to announce or impose a bright-line test as suggested by Hank's that any deliberate touching of a co-employee necessarily qualifies as misconduct under Missouri law. To the contrary, we hold that an appropriate...