BROWN, Judge.
The City of Gary, Indiana (the "City"), appeals a decision by the Review Board of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development (the "Board") in connection with Guadalupe Franco's application for unemployment benefits finding that Franco had been discharged but not for just cause and was entitled to unemployment benefits. The City raises two issues, which we consolidate and restate as whether the record supports the Board's decision. We affirm.
Franco worked as an electro-mechanic for the City's Sanitary District from July 16, 2010, to August 14, 2013.
Franco filed a claim for unemployment benefits, and on September 11, 2013, a deputy for the Indiana Department of Workforce Development issued a Determination of Eligibility which found that Franco had not been discharged for just cause, that sufficient information had not been provided to sustain the City's burden of proof, and that Franco was not disqualified from unemployment benefits. The City appealed the deputy's determination, and a telephonic hearing was held on October 21,
The City presented an on-site screening custody form, which contained instructions and fields to be completed with respect to six steps. According to the custody form, step one related to obtaining donor information and consent, step two was to be completed by the collector and involved identifying the temperature of the specimen, the lot number, and the reason for the accident, and step three included certifications by the collector and tester that the on-site test was performed utilizing standard procedures. Following step three, there was a portion of the form to be completed by the Medical Review Officer, or the "MRO." Exhibits at 27. The form stated that step five was to be completed only if the specimen was sent to the lab for testing, and step five included fields to provide the date and the printed name and signature of the tester and a field below the words "received by printed name/signature" with a box next to the words "seal intact." Id. Step six stated "To be completed by MEDTOX" and provided a field for the date and a field below the words "released by printed name/signature." Id.
In the custody form admitted into evidence, steps one through three were completed, and Dr. Messana signed the section to be completed by the MRO. In the fields for step five, the date of August 6, 2013, is identified along with the printed name and signature of the tester. However, in step five, the field below the words "received by printed name/signature" and the box next to the words "seal intact" were not completed. Id. In addition, the fields in step 6 on the custody form, which was to be completed by MedTox, were not completed.
The record also includes a Laboratory Report, included in the exhibit together with the on-site screening custody form, which indicates the report was completed by MedTox on behalf of Comprehensive Care, that the sample was collected on August 6, 2013, that it was received on August 7, 2013, and that it was reported on August 10, 2013. The Laboratory Report, which contained identification numbers matching those on the custody form, lists the tests requested, indicates that the result of the test for cocaine metabolite was positive, and states that "alternative explanations should be explored for any positive result." Id. at 28. The record also includes a letter dated August 13, 2013, addressed to the City and signed by Dr. Messana stating that Franco had tested positive for cocaine.
Franco testified that he was shocked that there was a positive test result for cocaine, that he had not been using any drugs, and that he was dumbfounded and did not know why that result occurred. He further testified that he had stated to the individuals who were in the room when his employment was terminated that he would do anything possible to clear his name including taking a polygraph or submitting to alternative testing such as a hair follicle test, but the City refused. When asked if he had any prior random drug tests in the previous ten years working at the location, Franco testified that he had random drug tests given to all employees a few times and also several tests in connection with a few incidents in which he had been hurt, and when asked how many prior drug tests he had or if he ever had a positive drug test, Franco replied that he had approximately six or seven prior drug
Dr. Messana testified regarding the screening custody form and the practices of Comprehensive Care. He testified that, if an initial screening test is performed at Comprehensive Care and there is a "non-negative," then the sample is sent to the laboratory and step five of the custody form is completed. Id. at 30. Dr. Messana further testified that the laboratory receives the specimen, confirms that the seal is unbroken, and performs another screening. Dr. Messana also testified that the initial screening "is very sensitive so it may pick up some false positives, and when it's sent to the laboratory, it is very specific, [] the follow-up testing they do. So we call it non-negative because there is a potential for it to go to the laboratory and when they do the [] very sensitive testing, ... it may come back as being a negative test. So we don't refer to them as a positive test, it's just a non-negative...." Id. at 31.
The following exchange occurred on cross-examination of Dr. Messana:
Id. at 33-35. On re-direct examination, Dr. Messana indicated that, in the event there was a leak or there was an issue, MedTox would find there was an invalid specimen and it would be refused for testing.
The City argued that there was "a failed test and it's gone through a very reasonable and reputable mechanism for ensuring that there are not errors, there are not things wrong," that "[w]e have all the documentation that, you know, is [] possessed by our local office here to show the court," and that "we feel, and the doctor seems to certainly feel that that has a very high degree of reliability." Id. at 37-38. Franco by counsel argued that the City must submit documentation from the laboratory establishing that the specimen was received intact and that the chain of custody was maintained by the laboratory and that, although Dr. Messana testified that there was proper chain of custody at Comprehensive Care, that "from then forward we don't have any evidence of that." Id. at 38. Franco's counsel further argued that Franco was a ten-year employee, that he had undergone drug testing on at least six or seven other occasions, that he was adamant that he was not a drug user, and that he had asked for alternate methods of testing. Franco's counsel also argued that "[w]here there's a zero tolerance policy there should be adequate substantiation of the [] test and in this case there wasn't." Id.
The ALJ issued a decision which affirmed the deputy's determination and concluded that Franco was discharged but not for just cause. The ALJ's decision provides in part:
Exhibits at 31-32.
The City filed an appeal from the decision of the ALJ, and on December 2, 2013, the Board, in a two-to-one vote, affirmed the ALJ's decision. In its decision, the Board adopted and incorporated by reference the findings and conclusions of the ALJ and included the following addendum:
Appellee's Appendix at 7.
In a dissenting opinion, Review Board Chairperson Steven F. Bier, wrote:
Id. at 7-8.
The issue is whether the record supports the decision of the Board that
Id. at 1317-1318 (citations and footnotes omitted).
In Indiana, an employee is ineligible for unemployment benefits if he or she is discharged for just cause. Stanrail Corp. v. Review Bd. of Dep't. of Workforce Dev., 735 N.E.2d 1197, 1202 (Ind.Ct.App.2000), trans. denied; Ind.Code § 22-4-15-1. Ind.Code § 22-4-15-1(d) provides that "[d]ischarge for just cause" is defined to include a "knowing violation of a reasonable and uniformly enforced rule of an employer...."
The City argues that Owen Cnty. is distinguishable from the present case because the evidence in the present case is more comprehensive and that the Board imposed an unreasonable burden of proof on employers in general. The City further argues that Dr. Messana reviewed the test result and that Franco had no alternative explanations for the test result. The City asserts that "if Franco's argument is to be believed, the logical result would be that in order for [the City] to be able to rely on the positive test result received from the laboratory, it would have to be in possession of conclusive evidence that (A) there was no tampering with the sample, which could essentially be done only by pouring urine containing the cocaine metabolite into [the City's] sample, and that (B) there was no inadvertent substitution of samples or other mishandling of [the City's] sample."
The Board maintains that its determination that Franco was not discharged for just cause is supported by the evidence and that the City failed to prove a proper chain of custody and thus did not show that Franco violated the City's workplace rule. The Board argues that there is no dispute the proper chain of custody was followed at Comprehensive Care, but that there was evidence that initial screenings turn up some false positives and that any sample that is non-negative is sent to a lab to be more thoroughly tested. The Board asserts that MedTox was responsible for filling in step six on the chain of custody form to confirm the sample was received intact, and that the form does not indicate the seal was intact when it was received. The Board notes Dr. Messana's testimony that the chain of custody form comes in triplicate, that his copy of the form was not signed by MedTox, and that the copy signed by MedTox would have to be obtained from MedTox. In response to the City's claim that the Board placed an extraordinarily high burden on it to produce evidence of discharge for just cause, the Board posits that "[t]his is simply not the case," that the City "could have obtained the chain of custody form from MedTox showing that it received the sample intact," that "[i]nstead, it submitted an incomplete form," that "[i]f the form no longer existed, [the City] could have obtained an affidavit from someone at MedTox showing that the proper chain of custody was observed," and that "[t]his is not an impossibly high burden; it is merely one additional step to complete the process of providing evidence that the chain of custody was followed." Appellee's Brief at 7.
In its reply brief, the City argues that, "[g]ranted, the chain of custody form in question does not have the signature of a person at the laboratory confirming receipt of the urine sample" but that "the form [] is completed by a second piece of evidence: the certified laboratory report received from the laboratory" and "[b]oth the chain of custody form and the laboratory report contain matching identifiers, including the donor's name, social security number, date of collection and unique specimen ID number." Appellant's Reply Brief at 3. The City argues that "[t]hese two documents, coupled with the testimony of Dr. Messana and the application of very basic logic [], reasonably lead to the conclusion that the proper procedures were followed at the laboratory." Id. at 4.
The employer bears the initial burden of establishing that an employee was terminated for just cause. Coleman v. Review Bd. of Ind. Dep't. of Workforce Dev., 905 N.E.2d 1015, 1019-1020 (Ind.Ct. App.2009). To establish a prima facie case for just cause discharge for violation of an employer rule, the employer has to show that the claimant: (1) knowingly violated; (2) a reasonable; and (3) uniformly enforced rule. Id. at 1020; Stanrail, 735 N.E.2d at 1203. To have knowingly violated an employer's rules, the employee must: (1) know the rule; and (2) know his conduct violated the rule. Stanrail, 735 N.E.2d at 1203. If an employer meets this burden, the claimant must present evidence to rebut the employer's prima facie showing. Coleman, 905 N.E.2d at 1020; Stanrail, 735 N.E.2d at 1203. A uniformly
Here, the evidence reveals that the purpose of steps five and six of the on-site screening custody form, according to the testimony before the ALJ and Board and the language of the form itself, was to document and establish when a specimen was properly transferred to and received by the laboratory, in this case MedTox, to provide the names and signature verifications of the persons who released and received the specimen, to confirm the dates the specimen was released and received by Comprehensive Care and MedTox, respectively, and to substantiate that the vial or other container holding the specimen was received by the laboratory with its seal intact. In this case, the relevant information on the copy of the screening custody form admitted into evidence established only that the specimen was collected and released by Comprehensive Care. The fields on the custody form which would have certified and established whether and when the specimen was received by MedTox, the person who provided a signature on the form to confirm receipt of the sample, and whether the seal of the vial holding the specimen was intact were not completed and are all blank.
Dr. Messana testified that the initial screening performed at Comprehensive Care was not as specific as the tests performed by MedTox and thus that Comprehensive Care could establish only that the results were non-negative. Dr. Messana further indicated that the custody form in his possession and admitted into evidence did not show that MedTox received Franco's sample with the seal intact and that MedTox would have a copy of the form with the information in step six completed. While Dr. Messana testified regarding his belief that MedTox would not test a sample if there was an issue, the Board in its decision stated that Dr. Messana "had no personal knowledge regarding the practices of MedTox Laboratories Inc. or its receipt and testing of [Franco's] sample," and this finding is supported by the evidence. Appellee's Appendix at 7. In addition, the City did not present evidence that Franco appeared to be under the influence of drugs on the day he was tested, the evidence reveals that Franco had previously submitted to six or seven drug screens and never had a positive result, and Franco offered to submit to alternative testing which the City refused.
Given the fact that relevant fields of steps five and six were not completed, the importance of these steps in the chain of custody, and the serious consequence for an employee of a positive drug test result, we decline to infer, from the fact that test results identifying Franco were sent by MedTox to Comprehensive Care, that the seal must have been intact and that the City met its burden with respect to the chain of custody. This does not have the effect of imposing an impossible burden on the City as it could have produced a copy of the custody form with the relevant fields completed or the testimony or an affidavit of the persons who received, checked the seal of, and tested Franco's sample. The City bore the initial burden of establishing that Franco was terminated for just cause. Moreover, it is the Board's responsibility to weigh the evidence and determine the credibility of the witnesses and, to the extent questions of ultimate fact found by the Board were within its special competence, we exercise greater deference to the reasonableness of the Board's conclusion. See McClain, 693 N.E.2d at 1317-1318. The deputy, the ALJ, and the Board concluded
Under the circumstances and in light of our standard of review, we do not disturb the Board's determination. See Owen Cnty., 861 N.E.2d at 1292-1293 (noting that the employer had the initial burden of showing the former employee knowingly violated a workplace rule, that the employer presented only a document that showed a certain level of marijuana metabolite was found in the employee's specimen, that there was no evidence establishing the reliability or trustworthiness of the tests or the basis for or an explanation of the results, that no one from the lab nor the review officer testified, and there was no testimony that the employee appeared to be under the influence of drugs on the day he was tested, and holding that it is the Board's responsibility to weigh the evidence and determine the credibility of the witnesses, that the Board determined that as between a document with no supporting testimony and the employee's testimony denying drug use the employee was the more credible, that the employer was asking us to reweigh the evidence, and that there was sufficient evidence to support the Board's findings and the decision).
For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the decision of the Board.
Affirmed.
VAIDIK, C.J., and NAJAM, J., concur.