M.A. v. Review Board of the Department of Workforce Development and Ascension Health (mem. dec.) ( 2019 )

MEMORANDUM DECISION
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), FILED
this Memorandum Decision shall not be Jun 21 2019, 8:22 am
regarded as precedent or cited before any CLERK
court except for the purpose of establishing Indiana Supreme Court
Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
the defense of res judicata, collateral
estoppel, or the law of the case.
APPELLANT PRO SE ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEES
M.A. Curtis T. Hill, Jr.
Indianapolis, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
Frances Barrow
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
M.A., June 21, 2019
Appellant-Petitioner, Court of Appeals Case No.
18A-EX-2571
v. Appeal from the Review Board of
the Indiana Department of
Review Board of the Indiana Workforce Development
Department of Workforce The Honorable Steven F. Bier,
Development and Ascension Chairperson
Health, The Honorable Lawrence A.
Appellees-Respondents. Dailey, Member
The Honorable Shawn E. Richter,
Administrative Law Judge
Application No.
18-R-985
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Najam, Judge.
Statement of the Case
[1] M.A., pro se, appeals the decision of the Indiana Department of Workforce
Development Unemployment Insurance Review Board (“the Review Board”)
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affirming an administrative law judge’s decision to deny M.A. unemployment
benefits. However, M.A. makes no cogent argument and has failed to provide
any citation to the record on appeal or to relevant case law. Accordingly, M.A.
has not met her burden on appeal to demonstrate that the Review Board erred,
and we affirm the Review Board’s decision.
Facts and Procedural History 1
[2] An administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) for the Indiana Department of
Workforce Development set out the facts and procedural history relevant to
M.A.’s appeal as follows:
The Employer operates a healthcare business where [M.A.]
worked in the accounts payable department from August 12,
2014, until [M.A.] quit as of June 29, 2018.
In October of 2015[, M.A.] met with a supervisor who said
“usually people from Africa are not intelligent but you are
intelligent.” [M.A.] told multiple co-workers, including human
resources, about the statement. Everyone she told was apologetic
and disapproved about the comment. The supervisor was
eventually discharged in 2016 for an unknown reason.
After that incident, [M.A.] regularly made comments at work
about being unhappy at work and being discriminated against by
co-workers. The discrimination statements were in reference to
the 2015 statement. A supervisor met with [M.A.] and gave
praise for her work and offered to be a reference if she wanted to
1
We note that, in her brief, M.A. provided very few facts, and she has not provided any procedural history
relevant to her appeal. See Ind. Appellate Rule 46(A)(6).
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search for a new job. At another time, a co-worker told [M.A.]
that she was making more money than [M.A.] even though
[M.A.] had a degree. A supervisor who overheard the statement
defended [M.A.] and immediately reproved the co-worker.
[M.A.] did not believe the company was at fault for her
problems. The Employer attempted to offer [M.A.] a better
position but [M.A.] was unable to move past the aforementioned
comments. [M.A.] believed the Employer should have held
company[-]wide training about racism, which never occurred.
Due to the inability to move on from the comments, [M.A.] quit.
Appellant’s App. at 6-7.
[3] After M.A. left her job, she filed a claim for unemployment benefits, which was
denied. Thereafter, the ALJ held a hearing at which M.A. appeared
telephonically and presented evidence. Following the hearing, the ALJ
concluded as follows:
The only inappropriate comment on the record that was
motivated by race was the comment in October of 2015 about
Africans. The comment was inappropriate and ignorant on its
face. The only other known comment concerned pay rates
among co-workers and not race. The employee who made the
racial comment was no longer employed after 2016. [M.A.]
continued to work for the Employer for two years. The comment
about pay rates was inappropriate but not severe and pervasive.
[M.A.] held on to the statement about Africans and the statement
about pay rate and used them as a basis for voluntary quit [sic].
When [M.A.] reported the issues[,] the evidence shows that she
was met with nothing but support from the Employer. While
there was no company[-]wide racism training as a result, the
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evidence on the record falls short of demonstrating ongoing
racism or harassment toward [M.A.] that the Employer failed to
address.
Id. at 8. Accordingly, the ALJ concluded that M.A. had voluntarily quit her job
without good cause in connection with the work and affirmed the denial of
M.A.’s claim. M.A. appealed that decision to the Review Board, which
adopted the ALJ’s findings and conclusions and affirmed the ALJ’s decision
without a hearing. This appeal ensued.
Discussion and Decision
M.A. appeals the denial of her claim for unemployment benefits. We first note
that M.A. is proceeding pro se. “It is well settled that pro se litigants are held to
the same legal standards as licensed attorneys. This means that pro se litigants
are bound to follow the established rules of procedure and must be prepared to
accept the consequences of their failure to do so.” Basic v. Amouri, 58 N.E.3d
980, 983-84 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016) (internal citation omitted).
[4] The Indiana Appellate Rules require an appellant to include in her brief an
argument section that “contain[s] the contentions of the appellant on the issues
presented, supported by cogent reasoning. Each contention must be supported
by citation to the authorities, statutes, and the Appendix or parts of the Record
on Appeal relied on[.]” Ind. Appellate Rule 46(A)(8)(a). This is because
cogent argument supported by adequate citation to authority “promotes
impartiality in the appellate tribunal. A court which must search the record and
make up its own arguments because a party has not adequately presented them
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runs the risk of becoming an advocate rather than an adjudicator.” Young v.
Butts, 685 N.E.2d 147, 151 (Ind. Ct. App. 1997). We will not address
arguments so poorly developed or expressed that they cannot be understood.
Basic, 58 N.E.3d at 984 (quotation marks omitted).
[5] Here, M.A.’s brief on appeal wholly fails to comply with Indiana Appellate
Rule 46(A)(8)(a). M.A. fails to set out her contentions supported by cogent
reasoning. Indeed, M.A. does not discuss the Review Board’s findings and
conclusions, nor does she provide any argument to explain why the Review
Board’s findings and conclusions are erroneous. Further, M.A. does not
provide a single citation to the record. And M.A. does not cite any case law, let
alone relevant case law. The only legal authority to which M.A. cites is Title
VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, M.A. does not explain why that
statute applies to her case or otherwise explain why the Employer violated her
rights under that statute. 2 As a result of her noncompliance with the appellate
rules, M.A. has failed to meet her burden on appeal to demonstrate that the
Review Board erred, and we affirm the Review Board’s decision. 3 See Basic, 58
N.E.3d at 984.
2
We also note that M.A. has failed to outline our standard of review in violation of Indiana Appellate Rule
46(A)(8)(b).
3
To the extent we can discern M.A.’s argument, it appears to simply be a request that we reweigh the
evidence, which we cannot do. See T.B. v. Rev. Bd. of Ind. Dep’t of Workforce Dev., 980 N.E.2d 341, 345 (Ind.
Ct. App. 2012).
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[6] Affirmed.
Baker, J., and Robb, J., concur.
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