Opinion ID: 1940696
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: due processpretermination hearing

Text: Lee claims that the manner in which he was summarily discharged failed to comply with his right to a pretermination hearing under Cleveland Bd. of Educ. v. Loudermill, 470 U.S. 532, 105 S.Ct. 1487, 84 L.Ed.2d 494 (1985), and thus constituted a violation of due process. He contends that he was given no prior notice of the brief meeting with his supervisors which resulted in his termination. Lee claims that the Department made no prior investigation of the facts surrounding the handling of Tammy's file and that he was denied the opportunity to adequately respond to the charges against him. Lee further claims that the unequivocal decision to fire him was made before the meeting took place, as evidenced by the letter of termination he received during the meeting after he refused to resign. Loudermill requires a pretermination hearing before a public employee can be discharged. For due process purposes, Loudermill held that some type of hearing is ordinarily a constitutional requirement before a public employee may be discharged from a job in which he has a protected property interest. 470 U.S. at 542, 105 S.Ct. at 1493, 84 L.Ed.2d at 504. The Constitution does not create property interests. [T]hey are created and their dimensions are defined by existing rules or understandings that stem from an independent source such as state lawrules or understandings that secure certain benefits and that support claims of entitlement to those benefits. Board of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 577, 92 S.Ct. 2701, 2709, 33 L.Ed.2d 548, 561 (1972); Loudermill, 470 U.S. at 538, 105 S.Ct. at 1491, 84 L.Ed.2d at 501. Just as the Loudermill civil service employees' property interest was created by statute, Lee's property interest in his job as a community health nurse was created and defined by Department's rules and regulations. Under Loudermill, a career service employee such as Lee possesses property rights in continued employment. Id., 470 U.S. at 539, 105 S.Ct. at 1491-1492, 84 L.Ed.2d at 501. The Loudermill Court stated that the hearing need not be elaborate. [T]he pretermination hearing need not definitively resolve the propriety of the discharge. It should be an initial check against mistaken decisionsessentially, a determination of whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that the charges against the employee are true and support the proposed action. (citation omitted) The essential requirements of due process... are notice and an opportunity to respond. The opportunity to present reasons, either in person or in writing, why proposed action should not be taken is a fundamental due process requirement. (citation omitted) The tenured public employee is entitled to oral or written notice of the charges against him, an explanation of the employer's evidence, and an opportunity to present his side of the story. (citations omitted) Id., 470 U.S. at 545-546, 105 S.Ct. at 1495, 84 L.Ed.2d at 506. Lee argues that this means an opportunity to be heard in a meaningful manner at a meaningful time. Lee was terminated on March 22, 1984. Loudermill was decided on March 19, 1985. Department followed its existing procedure in terminating Lee which procedure did not require a pretermination hearing in conformance with the dictates of Loudermill. Lee was also afforded the full scope of post-termination protection. In light of these facts, the guidelines for nonretroactive application of a decision under Chevron Oil Co. v. Huson, 404 U.S. 97, 92 S.Ct. 349, 30 L.Ed.2d 296 (1971), and the fact that the Supreme Court did not say Loudermill was retroactive, we will not apply the Loudermill ruling to the present case. However, Loudermill shall be applied prospectively to all future public employee termination cases. See Great Northern R. Co. v. Sunburst Oil & Ref. Co., 287 U.S. 358, 53 S.Ct. 145, 77 L.Ed. 360 (1932). We note that the trial court held that Lee's due process rights were not violated and that the Department complied with Loudermill in terminating Lee. We express no opinion whether this termination complied with the Loudermill requirements for a pretermination hearing. This part of our decision is based on the nonretroactive application of the Loudermill decision. Affirmed. WUEST, C.J., and MORGAN and MILLER, JJ., concur. HENDERSON, J., concurs in result.