Title: Harder v. Kansas Comm'n on Civil Rights
Citation: 225 Kan. 556, 592 P.2d 456
Docket Number: 49,960
State: Kansas
Issuer: Kansas Supreme Court
Date: March 31, 1979

225 Kan. 556 (1979)
592 P.2d 456
ROBERT C. HARDER, Secretary of Social and Rehabilitation Services and WILLIAM E. RICHARDS, Director of Social Services, Appellees,
v.
KANSAS COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS, Appellant.
No. 49,960

Supreme Court of Kansas.
Opinion filed March 31, 1979.
Gary D. Jackson, of Kansas Commission on Civil Rights, argued the cause; Arthur W. Solis, legal intern, and Roger Lovett, both of KCCR, and Curt T. Schneider, attorney general, were with him on the brief for appellant.
Robert R. Hiller, Jr., of Social and Rehabilitation Services, argued the cause and was on the brief for appellees.
The opinion of the court was delivered by
HOLMES, J.:
This is an appeal by the Kansas Commission on Civil Rights (KCCR) from a decision of the district court of Sedgwick County concluding (1) that as a matter of law the exclusion of pregnancy from a public employer's sick leave plan did not constitute discrimination on the basis of sex and (2) that Mrs. Rutledge's resignation from employment did not constitute constructive termination.
*557 The learned trial judge set forth his findings and conclusions in a memorandum decision as follows:
In addition to the facts set forth in the trial court's memorandum it appears that Mrs. Rutledge submitted her resignation for personal reasons to the Sedgwick County Social Welfare Board (Board) effective November 30, 1972. Her husband, also an employee of the Board, submitted his resignation at the same time so that he could move to California to seek employment. Previously, on November 3, 1972, Mrs. Rutledge had filed a complaint with the KCCR based upon the denial of sick leave for pregnancy purposes. The actions complained of occurred prior to the birth of the child on August 28, 1972. At the time that Mrs. Rutledge took leave to have her baby she had accumulated only two days of sick leave and six days of annual leave. After her resignation on *559 November 30, 1972, Mrs. Rutledge accompanied her husband to California and following a stay of approximately four months, she returned to Wichita and on April 1, 1973, resumed employment with the Board. The complaint filed with KCCR was not heard until February, 1976, and resulted in an award of $3,591.78 for back wages during the period she was in California and $1,000.00 for pain, suffering and humiliation. The action filed by the appellees was in the nature of an appeal from the order of the KCCR pursuant to K.S.A. 44-1011 and was heard by trial de novo in the district court.
Appellant's main contention is that the exclusion of pregnancy from the sick leave plan of the Board and the denial of sick leave for pregnancy related illness constitute an illegal discrimination on the basis of sex in violation of the Kansas Acts Against Discrimination, K.S.A. 44-1001 et seq. A large portion of the briefs of both parties is devoted to federal court decisions concerning Title VII of the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, which are not controlling in this court. Brookover Feed Yards, Inc. v. Carlton, Commissioner, 213 Kan. 684, 689, 518 P.2d 470 (1974).
November 16, 1972, K.A.R. 21-32-6 was adopted as a temporary rule and regulation and became permanent on May 1, 1975. K.A.R. 21-32-6 provides in part:
Appellant urges that the adoption of K.A.R. 21-32-6 merely sets forth the legislative intent that already existed under K.S.A. 44-1009(a)(1) and that a violation of the provisions of the regulation must have constituted a violation of the statute even though such conduct took place prior to the time the regulation was adopted. We do not agree. The regulation does not have retroactive application. Regulations in effect in August, 1972, specifically excluded pregnancy related illnesses from sick leave benefits. The Kansas Administrative Regulations when adopted have the force and effect of a statute (K.S.A. 77-425) and as in the case of statutes will be construed to operate prospectively unless a contrary intent is clearly indicated. Eakes v. Hoffman-LeRoche, Inc., 220 Kan. 565, 552 P.2d 998 (1976). See also 73 C.J.S., Public Administrative Bodies and Procedure § 107. In the instant case *560 we do not find any clear intent that an employer should be found to have violated a regulation that was not even in existence at the time the alleged discriminatory acts took place.
Appellees rely heavily on two United States Supreme Court cases which the trial court also found to be persuasive. Under similar circumstances it was held in Geduldig v. Aiello, 417 U.S. 484, 41 L. Ed. 2d 256, 94 S. Ct. 2485 (1974), that the exclusion of pregnancy benefits from an employer's disability insurance system was not a violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. General Electric Co. v. Gilbert, 429 U.S. 125, 50 L. Ed. 2d 343, 97 S. Ct. 401 (1976), rehearing denied 429 U.S. 1079 (1977) held the denial of disability benefits for pregnancy related illness did not violate § 703(a)(1) of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 [42 U.S.C.S. § 2000e-2(a)(1)] and did not constitute illegal discrimination based on sex. The relevant portion of Title VII under consideration by the Court was comparable to K.S.A. 44-1009. We find no merit in appellant's first point.
Appellant next contends that her termination on November 30, 1972, was not voluntary but to the contrary constituted a constructive termination by the employer due to its discriminatory practices. This alleged discrimination consisted of the failure to grant two days sick leave during her pregnancy in August, 1972, forcing her to use her six days of accumulated annual leave, which ultimately, in some fashion, forced her to resign. The trial court found no factual basis for plaintiff's position and, in fact, found she resigned of her own personal choice. The findings of the trial court on all points are amply supported by the evidence.
We have considered all issues raised by appellant and find no error.
The judgment is affirmed.
HERD, J., not participating.