Case Name: GREENWOOD PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT, Appellant v. MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT SECURITY, Appellee
Court: Mississippi Court of Appeals
Jurisdiction: Mississippi
Decision Date: 2007-02-27
Citations: 962 So. 2d 684
Docket Number: No. 2006-CC-00212-COA
Parties: GREENWOOD PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT, Appellant v. MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT SECURITY, Appellee.
Judges: KING, C.J., LEE, P.J., IRVING, CHANDLER AND ISHEE, JJ., CONCUR. ROBERTS, J., DISSENTS WITH SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION JOINED BY GRIFFIS, BARNES AND CARLTON, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 962
Pages: 684–691

Head Matter:
GREENWOOD PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT, Appellant v. MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT SECURITY, Appellee.
No. 2006-CC-00212-COA.
Court of Appeals of Mississippi.
Feb. 27, 2007.
Rehearing Denied June 12, 2007.
Richard A. Oakes, Greenwood, attorney for appellant.
Albert Bozeman White, Madison, attorney for appellee.

Opinion:
MYERS, P.J.,
for the Court.
¶ 1. The Greenwood Public School District (District) seeks review of the judgment of the Circuit Court of Leflore County affirming the decision of the Mississippi Department of Employment Security (MDES). MDES found that the District had failed to prove that a claimant had voluntarily resigned or had been discharged for misconduct, thereby affirming an award of unemployment benefits to the claimant. Finding that the Commission's order is supported by substantial evidence, we affirm.
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
¶ 2. Rodney Major was employed as a physical education teacher and head basketball coach by the District from 2001 until 2005. Major taught under a one-year renewable contract. Nearing the end of the 2005 school year, Major was approached by the principal and informed that his contract would not be renewed for the 2005-06 school year. The District decided not to renew Major's contract because it was unsatisfied with the direction of the basketball program and the lack of student participation in the physical education program. At this time, the principal gave Major the option of resigning or being terminated and encouraged Major to resign, advising him that resignation would afford him better future employment opportunities. Major chose to finish the remainder of the 2004-05 school year, and resigned prior to the beginning of the 2005-06 school year. He subsequently filed for unemployment benefits. Major was awarded unemployment benefits and the District appealed, asserting first that Major voluntarily quit or, in the alternative, that Major was discharged due to misconduct and was not entitled to benefits. Following a telephonic hearing, the administrative appeals officer (AAO) affirmed the decision to award unemployment benefits. The District continued its appeal, however, the Board of Review affirmed the award of unemployment benefits, adopting findings of fact made by the AAO, and that decision was affirmed by the Leflore County Circuit Court. The District now appeals to this Court, seeking review of the decision of the lower court, urging us to find that Major voluntarily discontinued his employment and that he is unavailable for work, so that he is not entitled to unemployment benefits.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
¶ 3. We find our standard for reviewing the findings and decisions of the MDES in Mississippi Code Annotated section 71-5-531 (Supp.2006): "In any judicial proceedings under this section, the findings of the Board of Review as to the facts, if supported by evidence and in the absence of fraud, shall be conclusive, and the jurisdiction of the court shall be confined to questions of law." "[WJhere there is the required substantial evidence, [appellate courts have] no authority to reverse the circuit court's affirmance of the decision of the Board of Review." Richardson v. Miss. Employment Sec. Comm'n, 593 So.2d 31, 34 (Miss.1992). We must not review the facts and assign our own weight to them, but rather we defer to the judgment of the agency. Broome v. Miss. Employment Sec. Comm'n, 921 So.2d 334, 337(1112) (Miss.2006).
LEGAL ANALYSIS
¶ 4. Mississippi unemployment compensation law provides that one who voluntarily resigns without good cause from employment forgoes his or her eligibility to receive unemployment compensation. Miss.Code Ann. § 71-5-513(A)(l)(a) (Supp. 2006). However, if a situation arises where the former employee can establish that he or she left the employment based upon good cause, under a reasonable belief that he or she has been feed, the Mississippi Supreme Court has held that this is not classified as "voluntary termination" of employment within the meaning of the statute. Huckabee v. Miss. Employment Sec. Comm'n, 735 So.2d 390, 397(¶25) (Miss.1999).
¶ 5. The AAO found, and the Board of Review as well as the Circuit Court summarily affirmed, that the District initiated the separation of employment and that the District failed to show that the discharge was a result of Major's misconduct. The District argues that the lower court erred in awarding Major unemployment benefits and asserts two positions in support of its argument. First, the District argues that Major voluntarily ceased his employment with the District, thereby precluding him from drawing unemployment benefits. Second, the District argues that even if we find that Major was discharged, the discharge was based on Major's misconduct, thereby eliminating his eligibility to receive unemployment benefits. MDES argues that because Major resigned in lieu of being discharged for unsatisfactory job performance, he, therefore, did not quit his employment, nor was he discharged for misconduct. MDES asserts that because Major was discharged within the meaning of Mississippi Employment Security Law, Major is eligible to receive unemployment benefits.
¶ 6. Our supreme court has dealt with a similar issue in the opinion of Mississippi Employment Sec. Comm'n v. Philadelphia Mun. Separate Sch. Dist., 437 So.2d 388, 399 (Miss.1983). In that case, the court discussed the issue of a teacher's contract not being renewed and the implications of the non-renewal as effecting eligibility for unemployment compensation benefits. The court stated:
An employee is as effectively removed from employment, whether he is fired or at the end of his contract term not rehired. We hold that a school teacher has been "discharged" within the meaning and contemplation of the Mississippi Employment Security Law whenever, within the meaning and contemplation of the Mississippi School Employment Procedures Law, he or she has been either fired or simply not reemployed. If the school district can demonstrate that the teacher's non-reemployment was because of misconduct connected with his or her work, the teacher is ineligible for benefits....
Id. Following the lead of our supreme court in Huckabee and Philadelphia Mun. Separate Sch. Dish, we find that Major was "discharged" within the meaning of the statute.
¶ 7. As a consequence of our finding that Major was discharged, we must now determine whether the lower court erred in holding that his discharge was not based on misconduct. The term "misconduct" has been defined by our unemployment benefit case law as "conduct evincing such willful and wanton disregard of the employer's interest as is found in deliberate violations or disregard of standards of behavior which the employer has the right to expect from his employee." Wheeler v. Arriola, 408 So.2d 1381, 1383 (Miss.1982). "Mere inefficiency, unsatisfactory conduct, failure in good performance as the result of inability or incapacity, or inadvertences and ordinary negligence in isolated incidents, and good faith errors in judgment or discretion were not considered 'misconduct' within the meaning of the statute." Id.
¶ 8. At the hearing before the AAO, a representative of the District testified that Major's contract was not renewed based upon dissatisfaction with the direction of the basketball program and with the overall handling of the physical education program. The AAO found that these cited reasons for the non-renewal of Major's contract did not amount to the requisite misconduct necessary to preclude unemployment benefits. At most, the District viewed Major's job performance unsatisfactory so as to justify their non-renewal. An employer's dissatisfaction with an employee's job performance does not amount to a showing of misconduct so as to disqualify the employee from receiving unemployment benefits. Our review of the record concludes that the AAO, and subsequently the Board of Review and the circuit court had substantial evidence before them to find that Major's discharge was not due to his misconduct. These findings are supported by substantial evidence and therefore it would be error for this Court to disturb such findings.
¶ 9. THE JUDGMENT OF THE CIRCUIT COURT OF LEFLORE COUNTY IS AFFIRMED. ALL COSTS OF THIS APPEAL ARE ASSESSED TO THE APPELLANT.
KING, C.J., LEE, P.J., IRVING, CHANDLER AND ISHEE, JJ., CONCUR. ROBERTS, J., DISSENTS WITH SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION JOINED BY GRIFFIS, BARNES AND CARLTON, JJ.