Barrera v. Employment Dept. ( 2024 )

No. 480 July 10, 2024 673
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE
STATE OF OREGON
Patricia C. BARRERA,
Petitioner,
v.
EMPLOYMENT DEPARTMENT
and City of Portland Bureau,
Respondents.
Employment Appeals Board
2022EAB0231
A178523
Submitted July 7, 2023.
Patricia Barrera filed the briefs pro se.
Ellen F. Rosenblum, Attorney General, Benjamin Gutman,
Solicitor General, and Patricia G. Rincon, Assistant Attorney
General, filed the brief for respondent Employment
Department.
Respondent City of Portland waived appearance.
Before Ortega, Presiding Judge, Powers, Judge, and
Hellman, Judge.
ORTEGA, P. J.
Affirmed.
674 Barrera v. Employment Dept.
ORTEGA, P. J.
Claimant seeks judicial review in a contested case
from a final order of the Employment Appeals Board (EAB)
denying her unemployment benefits. The EAB determined
that claimant was discharged for “misconduct connected
with work,” ORS 657.176(2)(a), after she chose not to be vac-
cinated for COVID-19 and did not seek one of the exceptions
allowed by her employer. Claimant challenges the determi-
nation that she was not eligible for unemployment benefits as
a consequence of her conduct. Because the order is supported
by substantial evidence and substantial reason, we affirm.
We take the following facts from the EAB’s order,
which adopted the order of the administrative law judge
(ALJ), and from the uncontroverted evidence in the record.
On August 30, 2021, claimant’s employer, the City of Portland,
notified all city employees that, effective October 18,
2021, all employees must be fully vaccinated for COVID-
19, with exceptions for medical and religious reasons. The
notice stated that employees would have until October 18
to fully comply or would be separated from employment on
October 19. The city sent out two more notices reiterating
the policy. Claimant received those notices.
Claimant was not vaccinated, did not plan to get
vaccinated, and did not apply for a medical or religious
exception. After she reported her vaccination status, the city
notified her on September 14 that she would be subject to
separation from employment. On October 11, the city noti-
fied claimant of “non-disciplinary separation,” and claimant
requested a meeting as offered in the notice. On October 18,
claimant attended the meeting and submitted a written
statement explaining that she chose not to get vaccinated
because the COVID-19 virus would not significantly hurt
her, she did not pose a greater public health threat than a
vaccinated person, she routinely avoided other preventative
medical care, and her in-office interactions were primarily
with detectives, who were not required to be vaccinated. On
October 21, the city discharged claimant from employment.
After her termination, claimant sought unemploy-
ment benefits. Under ORS 657.176(2)(a), a person is disqualified
Cite as 333 Or App 673 (2024) 675
from receiving benefits if the Employment Department finds
that the person “[h]as been discharged for misconduct con-
nected with work[.]” The department defines misconduct to
be “a willful or wantonly negligent violation of the standards
of behavior which an employer has the right to expect of an
employee[.]” OAR 471-030-0038(3)(a). Misconduct does not
include “[i]solated instances of poor judgment” or “good faith
errors,” among other things. OAR 471-030-0038(3)(b). The
department found that claimant was fired for “misconduct
connected with work” and denied her benefits.
Claimant requested a hearing, and an ALJ affirmed
the department’s decision. The ALJ found that the city fired
claimant for failing to get vaccinated or to obtain a medical
or religious exception. The ALJ found that claimant “tes-
tified there was once a written listing of an ‘other’ excep-
tion, but the evidence in the hearing plainly shows that the
employer’s policy only provided for the two aforementioned
exceptions and that the employer notified claimant of this
multiple times, including two warnings to her.” The ALJ
also found that claimant acknowledged that she did not get
any COVID-19 vaccinations and did not apply for a medical
or religious exception. Based on that, the ALJ found that
her violation was willful because “she chose to not comply
with the policy, which she was aware of and understood,”
and that the violation was not an isolated occurrence of poor
judgment or a good-faith error. The ALJ also concluded that
the policy was reasonable and that the employer had a right
to expect compliance.
Claimant sought review of the ALJ’s decision by
the EAB, which reviewed the hearing record de novo and
adopted the ALJ’s order.
Claimant, appearing pro se, now seeks judicial
review of the EAB’s order. We review that order for substan-
tial evidence, substantial reason, and errors of law. Franklin
v. Employment Dept., 254 Or App 656, 657, 294 P3d 554
(2013).
On review, claimant makes two arguments. First,
she asserts that the EAB’s finding that she did not seek
a valid exception to the vaccination requirement was not
676 Barrera v. Employment Dept.
supported by substantial evidence because, in fact, she did
request an exception on a form that allowed her to seek an
exception for “other” reasons. “Substantial evidence exists to
support a finding of fact when the record, viewed as a whole,
would permit a reasonable person to make that finding.”
ORS 183.482(8)(c). We conclude that substantial evidence
supports the EAB’s findings. Although claimant maintains
that there was a form that allowed employees to claim an
exception based on an “other” reason, the evidence in the
record supports the EAB’s finding that the city notified
claimant more than once that the policy included only medi-
cal and religious exceptions. See, e.g., Pullam v. Employment
Dept., 238 Or App 60, 64, 243 P3d 71 (2010) (“Our role is to
determine whether that record, viewed as a whole, is capa-
ble of being read as the agency read it.” (Emphasis in origi-
nal.)). Claimant did not request either a medical or religious
exception.
In her second argument, claimant asserts that
her failure to comply with the vaccination requirement or
to obtain an exception was not willful or wantonly negli-
gent conduct. She argues that she made her choice based
on information she obtained about the vaccination, includ-
ing from her doctor, to confirm it was the right choice for
both her health and safety and the health and safety of her
co-workers and clients. That argument raises an issue of
substantial evidence or substantial reason because whether
claimant acted willfully, as found by the EAB, is a ques-
tion of fact. James River Corp. v. Employment Division, 94
Or App 268, 271, 765 P2d 217 (1988).
We conclude that substantial evidence and substan-
tial reason support the EAB’s finding. Claimant does not
dispute that she was aware of and understood the policy, nor
does she argue that the EAB failed to adequately explain
the connection between that finding and its conclusion. She
instead asserts that the choices she made were appropri-
ate based on the information she obtained. That argument,
however, does not address the issue that was before the
EAB, nor does it take into account that we are constrained
by our standard of review in reviewing the EAB’s factual
findings and do not undertake an evaluation of the merits
Cite as 333 Or App 673 (2024) 677
of claimant’s reasons for choosing not to comply with the
employer’s policy as communicated to her. Claimant has not
developed an argument addressing why the EAB could not,
on this record, find that her conduct was willful, including
that her conduct did not qualify as an isolated instance of
poor judgment or good-faith error, under OAR 471-030-
0038(3)(b). As a result, we affirm the EAB’s final order.
Affirmed.