Court Opinion

ID: 9560727
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 17:54:29.378298+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:13:08.819319
License: Public Domain

Judge JOHNSON
dissenting.
The majority opinion holds that “appellant’s act of driving the State van 46 miles out of the way to conduct personal business at a mobile home sales lot falls within the purview of misusing State property” and is related to job conduct which does not entitle appellant to three warnings which are allowed in instances of job performance. I, however, disagree with the majority opinion, and would hold that the appellant did not steal or knowingly misuse State property and was improperly discharged without warnings and without just cahse.
The record clearly shows that many deviations had taken place on other field trips and no one else had been disciplined for excessive mileage. The majority points out “that of the other cases of excessive mileage, none exceeded eleven miles and all were accounted for by reasonable explanations.” Because, however, there were no written guidelines concerning deviations during off-campus field trips and no one else had been disciplined for excessive mileage, I find it unfair and unjust to discipline appellant in the instant case. But for this incident, appellant had an irreproachable work record. Accordingly, I would hold that this incident falls within the purview of job performance; therefore, appellant was entitled to three warnings before dismissal. I would further hold that the State is estopped from disciplining appellant since other instances of excessive mileage were undisciplined and there were no written guidelines on field trip deviations.