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Souther v. New River Area Mental Health Development Disabilities and Substance Abuse Program2/6/2001
Employment Opportunity Commission, in which she stated,
The first response from Mr. Randy Johnson in regards to my being sexually harassed was a phone call telling me to come to a meeting with him, Randy Johnson the case manager, Ms. Suzanne Tate the CAP/MR/DD Coordinator and Ms. Dorothy R. Beamon the Area Director of New River Mental Health Center. At this point I felt my job might be in jeopardy and asked if I could have a lawyer present. I was told no. I asked Mr. Johnson if I could meet with just him, Mr. Randy Johnson and Ms. Suzanne Tate. I was told no. I did not attend the meeting because I was very concerned, upset, worried, scared and felt I could not deal with the three of them, alone.
Petitioner then rested her case.
The foregoing recitation constitutes the whole of petitioner's evidence regarding the meeting. She presented no evidence that respondent's request to meet was in any way improper or unreasonable. Moreover, the only reasons given for petitioner's refusal to attend was that Beamon was angry and rude and that petitioner was "scared." The majority finds that petitioner acted reasonably because she understood that more than one management person would be present at the meeting and because she perceived that management did not believe her allegations. I cannot agree. Although there was evidence contradicting petitioner's contentions that Beamon displayed anger or rudeness toward petitioner, and although petitioner's credibility was tattered at the end of her examination, even giving petitioner the benefit of the doubt and assuming that Beamon was overtly angry, petitioner was the employee in an employment relationship. Her fear and perception regarding the attitudes or beliefs of supervisors are insufficient to establish that her refusal to attend a proper meeting was reasonable. Accordingly, I would reverse the decision of the trial court based upon petitioner's willful and intentional refusal to attend the 15 September 1993 meeting.
Request to Resume Services to Robinette
I also believe petitioner failed to satisfy her burden with regard to respondent's request to re-establish care to Robinette and her family. Again, petitioner was required to carry the burden of establishing that respondent's request was unreasonable or that her refusal to comply was justified or unintentional. See Mendenhall, 119 N.C. App. at 651, 459 S.E.2d at 824.
Petitioner claimed that Mr. Jenkins sexually harassed her and that she was neither advised of respondent's investigation of her complaints nor that anyone had spoken with Mr. Jenkins about her allegations. However, petitioner's credibility was an issue in resolving these disputed matters. She claimed that if she had been advised that an investigation had taken place and that a representative of respondent had spoken with Mr. Jenkins, she would have returned to work in the Jenkins home. She testified at the hearing that at the 20 September 1993 meeting attended by her, her attorney, Beamon, Tate, and Johnson, Beamon called petitioner a "liar," that Beamon "knew [Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins] longer than [petitioner] had, that [Beamon] did not believe [petitioner]," and that Johnson also said he did not believe petitioner's allegations. Petitioner claimed that she was not given a choice between resuming services to the Jenkins family or losing her job.
When cross-examined at the hearing, petitioner was confronted with notes taken by Johnson during meetings with petitioner and maintained in a log of supervision. Petitioner denied practically everything recorded in Johnson's notes:
Q. All right. I'm going to read you a paragraph. And I want you to tell me whether or not y
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