Case Name: Friday C. ADIKEMA v. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORRECTIONS-OFFICE OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT-Jetson Correctional for Youth
Court: Louisiana Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Decision Date: 2007-09-14
Citations: 971 So. 2d 1071
Docket Number: No. 2006 CA 1854
Parties: Friday C. ADIKEMA v. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORRECTIONS—OFFICE OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT—Jetson Correctional for Youth.
Judges: Before: KUHN, GAIDRY, DOWNING, MCDONALD, WELCH, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 971
Pages: 1071–1078

Head Matter:
Friday C. ADIKEMA v. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORRECTIONS—OFFICE OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT—Jetson Correctional for Youth.
No. 2006 CA 1854.
Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.
Sept. 14, 2007.
Mark E. Falcon, Daniel L. Avant, Baton Rouge, for Plaintiff — Appellant Friday C. Adikema.
Cynthia G. Eyre, Baton Rouge, for Defendants — Appellees Dept, of Public Safety & Corrections, Office of Youth Development and Jetson Center for Youth.
Robert R. Boland, Jr., Baton Rouge, for Defendant — Appellee Anne Soileau, Director, Dept, of State Civil Service.
Before: KUHN, GAIDRY, DOWNING, MCDONALD, WELCH, JJ.

Opinion:
WELCH, J.
12AppelIant, Friday C. Adikema, appeals the decision of the Civil Service Commission (Commission) upholding the designation of his resignation as one to avoid termination. We affirm.
BACKGROUND
Mr. Adikema was employed by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections (DPSC), Office of Youth Development, at Jetson Correctional Center for Youth (JCCY). He worked as an Administrative Director 3 and served with permanent status.
On January 30, 2006, Mr. Adikema was placed on suspension pending investigation of theft of state property. On February 2, 2006, DPSC notified Mr. Adikema to report to work. After Mr. Adikema reported to work, DPSC officials had him arrested, handcuffed and taken to jail, where he was charged with theft.
At the time of the arrest, JCCY Director Donna Bourque handed Mr. Adikema a Violation Report (VR-1), a document utilized by DPSC to initiate the disciplinary process, charging Mr. Adikema with aggravated malfeasance in violation of DPSC Rule 13(c). The form described in detail various building material items purchased by Mr. Adikema on his JCCY credit card for his personal use, as well as multiple charges on that card for concrete delivered to his personal residence. The VR-1 was not signed by Mr. Adikema or his employer, and it does not list a recommended disciplinary action. Mrs. Bourque also gave Mr. Adikema a letter notifying him that his initial review/Loudermill Notice was scheduled for | ^February 8, 2006.
The day before his scheduled Louder-mill hearing, on February 7, 2006, Mr. Adikema sent DPSC a letter in which he requested that DSPC accept his "voluntary resignation" effective "at the close of business this day." DPSC received the resignation, and on February 14, 2006, advised Mr. Adikema that his separation had been designated as a "Resign to Avoid Dismissal."
On March 9, 2006, Mr. Adikema appealed to the Civil Service Commission, challenging the propriety of the designation of his resignation. Pursuant to an agreement of the parties, the matter was submitted on briefs and, on June 16, 2006, a Civil Service referee filed a decision upholding the designation.
Mr. Adikema did not file an application for review, opting instead to allow the referee's decision to become the final decision of the Commission, and appealed to this court. See La. Const. Art. X, § 12(A).
DISCUSSION
The final decision of the Commission is subject to review on any question of law or fact. La. Const. Art. 10, § 12; Addison v. L.S.U. Medical Center in Shreveport, 551 So.2d 750, 754 (La.App. 1st Cir.1989). The standard of appellate review for findings of fact made by referees of the Commission is the same as the review of district court decisions, that is, the Commission referee's factual findings should not be disturbed unless they are clearly wrong or the referee committed manifest error. Dunlap v. Louisiana State University Health Sciences Ctr., 2005-1605, p. 4 (La.App. 1st Cir.6/9/06), 938 So.2d 109, 112. On appeal, with respect to the Commission's decisions as to jurisdiction, procedure, and interpretation of laws and regulations, the court performs its traditional plenary functions and applies the error of law standard. James v. LSU Health 4Sciences Ctr. Med. Ctr. of Louisiana at New Orleans, 2001-1853, p. 3 (La.App. 1st Cir.11/8/02), 834 So.2d 470, 472, writ denied, 2003-0214 (La.4/21/03), 841 So.2d 792.
In this appeal, Mr. Adikema contends that DPSC improperly designated his resignation as a resignation to avoid dismissal in violation of Civil Service Rule 12.11(f). The rule, entitled "Resignations," sets forth in relevant part:
(f) When, after receiving notice that his dismissal has been proposed, an employee resigns to avoid dismissal, the Standard Form 1 reporting the resignation shall so indicate and a copy thereof shall be furnished to the employee.
It is undisputed that DPSC did not give Mr. Adikema actual notice, either in writing or orally, that it had made a decision to terminate him before Mr. Adikema submitted his resignation. Mr. Adikema maintains that in order for Rule 12.11(f) to apply, the appointing authority must actually convey to the employee, in writing or orally, that a termination has been proposed. He submits that until he received such actual notice from his employer, he was free to resign and such resignation could not be construed as a resignation to avoid dismissal. Under the limited circumstances of this case, we disagree.
It is well settled that Civil Service rules have the effect of law. La. Const, art. X, § 10(A)(4); Bannister v. Dep't of Streets, 95-0404, p. 5 (La.1/16/96), 666 So.2d 641, 645. Civil Service rules must be construed according to the rules of interpretation applicable to legislation. King v. LSU Health Sciences Center, 2003-1138, pp. 5-6 (La.App. 1st Cir.4/2/04), 878 So.2d 544, 547. When a law is clear and unambiguous and its application does not lead to absurd consequences, the law shall be applied as written. La. Civ.Code art. 9. The following rules for statutory construction have developed in the jurisprudence: (1) it is presumed that every provision of a law was intended to serve some useful purpose; (2) it is not | ¡^presumed that the lawmaker intended for any part of the law to be meaningless; (3) the lawmaker is presumed to have enacted the law with full knowledge of all other laws pertaining to the same subject matter; (4) it is the duty of the courts to interpret a provision of law in a manner which harmonizes and reconciles it with other provisions pertaining to the same subject matter; and (5) when a law is susceptible to two or more interpretations, that which affords a reasonable and practical effect to the entire act is preferred to one that renders part of the act nugatory. Ascension School Employees Credit Union v. Provost, Salter, Harper & Alford, L.L.C., 2004-1227, p. 10 (La.App. 1st Cir.6/10/05), 916 So.2d 252, 258.
Although Rule 12.11(f) requires that an employee have notice that his dismissal has been proposed prior to his resignation to avoid termination, it is silent as to what type of notice is required. As written, Rule 12.11(f) does not require the appointing authority to notify the employee, either in writing or orally, that his dismissal has been proposed prior to the resignation. Furthermore, Rule 12.11(f) is obviously designed to prevent an employee, who knows that his dismissal is imminent, from attempting to resign before the formal disciplinary process can be initiated in order to avoid the consequences of a resignation to avoid dismissal. Given the purpose of the rule, in light of the absence of any language in the provision specifying the type of notice required, we construe Rule | n 12.11(f) to authorize the designation of a resignation as one to avoid dismissal where an employee has actual or constructive notice that his appointing authority is in the process of dismissing him, and he in fact resigns to avoid the impending dismissal.
In upholding DPSC's designation of Mr. Adikema's resignation, the referee concluded that DPSC provided Mr. Adikema information from which there could be no doubt that his dismissal was imminent. In support of her conclusion that Mr. Adike-ma had to know that his dismissal was imminent before he submitted his resignation, the referee relied on the following factors: (1) DPSC suspended Mr. Adikema while it investigated him on the suspicion of theft of state property; (2) DPSC had Mr. Adikema arrested for theft, handcuffed and taken to jail; (3) DPSC furnished Mr. Adikema with a VR-1 initiating disciplinary action along with a letter notifying him that his initial disciplinary hearing was set for February 8, 2006, and (4) Mr. Adikema was an administrative director at JCCY and held a position of authority, and as such, had to know that the consequences of being charged with violating DPSC Rule 13(c), malfeasance-aggravated, theft of state property, and being arrested for the theft would be dismissal. The referee also concluded that under all of the circumstances, Mr. Adike-ma attempted to avoid the consequences of being dismissed by resigning one day before his disciplinary hearing.
The referee's conclusion that Mr. Adike-ma was on notice that his dismissal had been proposed by his employer before he resigned, and its conclusion that Mr. Adikema attempted to avoid the consequences of dismissal by resigning, are factual conclusions that may not be disturbed by this court in the absence of manifest error. Both of these findings are reasonably supported by the record. ^Accordingly, we find no manifest error in the referee's conclusion that DPSC did not violate Rule 12.11(f) by designating Mr. Adikema's resignation as one to avoid dismissal, and we decline to disturb it.
DECREE
The decision of the Civil Service referee is affirmed. All costs of this appeal are assessed to appellant, Friday C. Adikema.
AFFIRMED.
KUHN, J., dissents with reasons.
GAIDRY, J., dissents.
. See Cleveland Board of Education v. Loudermill, 470 U.S. 532, 105 S.Ct. 1487, 84 L.Ed.2d 494. This hearing is presided over by a review officer, who makes an initial recommendation as to what disciplinary action should be taken, and the employee is officially notified of the recommended disciplinary action.
. See Civil Service Rule 6.5(c) (making ineligible specified rate of pay for an employee reentering service if lie resigned to avoid dismissal); Rule 7.5(7) (permitting the Civil Service Director to reject the application for admission or examination of any applicant who resigned to avoid dismissal); Rule 8.13(7) (permitting employment ineligibility to any applicant who resigned to avoid dismissal); Rule 8.18 (making ineligible for noncompetitive reemployment any former employee who resigned to avoid dismissal); Rule 11.18 (making ineligible a former employer who resigned to avoid dismissal of the privilege of recrediting all accrued annual and sick leave that was cancelled upon separation); and Rule 17.25 (declaring as ineligible from the preferred reemployment list former employees who resigned to avoid dismissal).