Famuyiwa v. State, Dept. of Employment Security Div.

 Security Division (ESD) investigated appellant's claim and was advised by
Dr. Coppel that appellant was released to work without limitations as of
May 24, 2012, earlier than his original recommendation but still after
appellant's resignation and that he had not advised appellant to quit his
job for health reasons. The ESD, finding that appellant had quit without
good cause, denied appellant's request for unemployment benefits. The
appeals refereeS upheld the decision to deny benefits, and the Board of
Review declined further review. Appellant filed a petition for judicial
review and a motion for leave to submit additional evidence that appellant
argued was erroneously excluded from the administrative record. The
district court denied both the motion and judicial review. This appeal
followed.
On appeal, appellant first contends that the district court
erred in denying his motion for leave to submit additional evidence
because the administrative record was incomplete. Judicial review is
confined to the administrative record and the district court determined
that there were no irregularities in procedure that warranted receiving
the additional evidence. See NRS 233B.135(1). Appellant sought to
include in the record a physician's note obtained after his resignation,
which would not be relevant to the issue of whether he had resigned with
good cause. Appellant also sought to include his resume and a second
physician's note, but the content of the note is not clear from the record
and appellant did not explain why these documents were relevant to this
matter. Thus, we find no error in the district court's denial of the motion.
Appellant also contends that the district court erred in
denying his petition for judicial review because he quit his job for good
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cause. A person is ineligible for unemployment benefits if he voluntarily
leaves his job without good cause or to seek other employment. NRS
612.380. The appeals referee concluded that because appellant had not
provided evidence that his medical condition required him to quit, he had
not shown good cause. Appellant testified that he left his job because of
both his medical condition and his desire to seek employment in his
previous line of work. But while the record shows that appellant was still
receiving treatment for his injury, there is no physician opinion that
appellant should quit his job due to his condition. In fact, Dr. Coppel
provided a form indicating that he had not advised appellant to quit his
job for health reasons. We therefore conclude that substantial evidence in
the record supports the appeals referee's finding that appellant had not
quit his job for good cause. See Kolnik v. Nev. Emp't Sec. Dep't, 112 Nev.
11, 16, 908 P.2d 726, 729 (1996) (noting that mixed questions of law and
fact are entitled to deference and the agency's conclusions will not be
disturbed by this court if they are supported by substantial evidence); see
also Wright v. State, Dep't of Motor Vehicles, 121 Nev. 122, 125, 110 P.3d
1066, 1068(2005) (recognizing that substantial evidence may be inferred
from the lack of certain evidence); Uhl v. Ballard Med. Prods., Inc., 67
P.3d 1265, 1270 (Idaho 2003) (upholding the denial of benefits based on
the failure to provide sufficient evidence showing the degree of risk to the
claimant's health or physical condition by continuing in his job).
Because substantial evidence supports the appeals referee's
decision, the Board of Review's decision to affirm the appeals referee's
ruling was not arbitrary or capricious. See NRS 233B.135(3)(f);
McCracken v. Fancy, 98 Nev. 30, 31, 639 P.2d 552, 553 (1982) (explaining
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that in reviewing an unemployment benefits decision, this court
determines whether the board acted arbitrarily or capriciously). Thus, we
affirm the district court's denial of appellant's petition for judicial review.
It is so ORDERED.
/LAA.-4-ec J.
Hardesty
jaA J.
DbL
Douglas
J.
cc: Hon. Mark R. Denton, District Judge
Idowu S Famuyiwa
State of NevadaJDETR
Eighth District Court Clerk
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