| First Name | Edna |
| Last Name | Sapp |
| Decision Date | 8/6/2024 |
| Docket Number | 2024-0012-DHS |
| ALJ | RLR |
| Respondent | West Virginia Department of Homeland Security/ Pruntytown Correctional Center and Jail, and Division of Personnel |
| Employment Type | STATE |
| Job Title | Corrections Counselor I |
| Topics | Selection |
| Primary Issues | Whether Grievant proved by a preponderance of the evidence that the Respondents acted in any manner that was arbitrary and caprious by not awarding her the position of Corrections Case manager. |
| Outcome | DENIED |
| Statutes | W. Va. CODE § 6C-2-5(a), W. Va. CODE § 51-11-4(b)(4), W. Va. CODE § 6C-2-5(b), W. Va. CODE § 29A-5-4(b). |
| Related Cases | Procedural Rules of the W. Va. Public Employees Grievance Bd. 156 C.S.R. 1 § 3 (2018); Holly v. Logan County Bd. of Educ., Docket No. 96-23-174 (Apr. 30, 1997); Hanshaw v. McDowell County Bd. of Educ., Docket No. 33-88-130 (Aug. 19, 1988), Petry v. Kanawha County Bd. of Educ., Docket No. 96-20-380 (Mar. 18, 1997), Leichliter v. W. Va. Dep’t of Health & Human Res., Docket No. 92-HHR-486 (May 17, 1993). State ex rel. Eads v. Duncil, 196 W. Va. 604, 474 S.E.2d 534 (1996) (citing Arlington Hosp. v. Schweiker, 547 F. Supp. 670 (E.D. Va. 1982)), Bedford County Memorial Hosp. v. Health and Human Serv., 769 F.2d 1017 (4th Cir. 1985); Yokum v. W. Va. Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, Docket No. 96-DOE-081 (Oct. 16, 1996);” Trimboli v. Dep’t of Health and Human Res., Docket No. 93-HHR-322 (June 27, 1997), aff’d Mercer Cnty. Cir. Ct. Docket No. 97-CV-374-K (Oct. 16, 1998); Burgess v. Div. of Highways, Docket No. 2019-0576-DOT (Nov. 22, 2019), Adkins v. W. Va. Dep’t of Educ., 210 W. Va. 105, 556 S.E.2d 72 (2001), Griffon v. Div. of Motor Vehicles, Docket No. 2008-1271-DOT (Aug. 17, 2009). |
| Keywords | arbitrary and caprious, qualifications, position, education, experience, class specification, training. |
| Intermediate Court of Appeals | |
| Circuit Court | |
| Supreme Court | |
| Synopsis | Grievant is employed by Pruntytown and holds the position of Corrections Counselor I. Grievant is challenging the determination of the West Virginia Division of Personnel that she does not possess the minimum qualifications for the position of Corrections Case Manager. The Division of Personnel determined that Grievant did not have a four-year degree in corrections programming and that the educational program hours that she had earned were not applicable to the position in question. Grievant failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the Respondents acted in any manner that was arbitrary and capricious by not awarding her the position of Corrections Case Manager, as the record demonstrated that she did not possess the necessary qualifications for the position. |