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Harding v. North Carolina Department Of Correction9/19/2000
Appeal by both parties from judgment entered 14 June 1999 by Judge Narley L. Cashwell in Wake County Superior Court. Heard in the Court of Appeals 16 August 2000.
This appeal marks the fourth time that this case has come before the appellate courts of North Carolina. The North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women ("CIW") dismissed Janice Harding from her position as a correctional officer after Ms. Harding took extended leave without pay due to a pre-existing hip condition. After undergoing hip replacement surgery, Ms. Harding's doctor cleared her for light duty work. Respondent North Carolina Department of Correction ("DOC") refused to reinstate her. Ms. Harding then had a hearing before the Office of Administrative Hearings ("OAH"). The Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ") recommended Ms. Harding's reinstatement at the CIW. He also recommended that she receive back pay. The State Personnel Commission ("SPC") refused to adopt the ALJ's recommendation and upheld the dismissal. Ms. Harding appealed the decision to the superior court. The trial judge reversed the SPC and ordered Ms. Harding's reinstatement; in addition, he concluded that she was entitled to back pay. This Court in Harding v. N.C. Dept. of Correction, 106 N.C. App. 350, 416 S.E.2d 587, disc. review denied, 332 N.C. 147, 419 S.E.2d 567 (1992) (Harding I), affirmed the superior court's decision. Thereafter, DOC reinstated Ms. Harding but did not give her back pay.
Ms. Harding then brought an action against the DOC to recover the back pay that was authorized by Harding I. The superior court determined that the DOC should pay Ms. Harding $86,806.01. In Harding v. N.C. Dept. of Correction, 334 N.C. 414, 432 S.E.2d 298 (1993) (Harding II), the Supreme Court remanded the case to the SPC to determine the amount of back pay, articulating that the SPC's regulations governing back pay make it better suited than the superior court in matters regarding the determination of back pay. On remand, the SPC determined that Ms. Harding was due $86,806.01. In doing so, however, the SPC based its determination on an internal memo that was not a part of the administrative record. In N.C. Dept. of Correction v. Harding, 120 N.C. App. 451, 462 S.E.2d 671 (1995), aff'd per curiam, 344 N.C. 625, 476 S.E.2d 105 (1996) (Harding III), this Court concluded that the SPC did not have the authority to hear or admit new evidence into the record. The case was then remanded to the SPC with instructions to remand to the OAH for a full evidentiary hearing regarding back pay.
Following that hearing, the ALJ issued its Recommended Decision. In it, the ALJ first found that Ms. Harding would have earned $86,806.01 during the period of her wrongful termination. The ALJ then determined that respondent had recently paid $16,435.21 of that amount to Ms. Harding. Next, the ALJ found that Ms. Harding only "made minimal efforts to find suitable employment during the relevant period" and therefore did not mitigate her damages. The ALJ concluded Ms. Harding was not entitled to the full amount she would have earned, i.e. $86,806.01. Instead, the ALJ recommended partial back pay in the amount of $25,000, exclusive of the $16,435.21 Ms. Harding had already received. However, the ALJ made no findings as to how it derived this amount.
On its review, the SPC adopted the ALJ's findings and recommendations, including the $25,000 partial back pay award. Ms. Harding again petitioned for judicial review, and the superior court remanded the case on the ground that the findings were insufficient to support the $25,000 figure awarded. Both parties now appeal. Ms. Harding claims she is entitled to the full $86,806.01 based on this Court's decision in Harding I, less
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