STATE OF WISCONSIN
LABOR AND INDUSTRY REVIEW COMMISSION
P O BOX 8126, MADISON, WI 53708-8126 (608/266-9850)

DANIEL J HINKE, Complainant

TRAK INTERNATIONAL INC, Respondent

FAIR EMPLOYMENT DECISION
ERD Case No. 199803510

An administrative law judge (ALJ) for the Equal Rights Division of the Department of Workforce Development issued a decision in this matter. A timely petition for review was filed.

The commission has considered the petition and the positions of the parties, and it has reviewed the evidence submitted to the ALJ. Based on its review, the commission agrees with the decision of the ALJ, and it adopts the findings and conclusion in that decision as its own.

DECISION

The decision of the administrative law judge (copy attached) is affirmed.

Dated and mailed May 30, 2000
hinkeda.rsd : 125 : 9

/s/ David B. Falstad, Chairman

/s/ Pamela I. Anderson, Commissioner

/s/ James A. Rutkowski, Commissioner

MEMORANDUM OPINION

The respondent terminated the complainant's employment on June 23, 1998, following an incident on June 15, 1998, where the complainant had left work without permission from his foreman and without punching out, and then repeatedly lied about his whereabouts upon his return to work. The complainant had previously received a 5-day suspension on July 25, 1997, for threatening a coworker.

The complainant contends that he has a disability and that the respondent terminated his employment for that reason. Specifically, the complainant contends that he suffers from panic attacks, and that he left work on June 15, 1998, because he was feeling "nervous," "jumpy" and "closed in." The complainant failed to establish by competent medical evidence that he has a disability, or that the respondent perceived him as having a disability, within the meaning of the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act. The evidence shows that the respondent terminated the complainant's employment because he had violated several work rules by his conduct on June 15, 1998, and because of his previous unsatisfactory conduct.

The complainant complains that the ALJ rejected all of the documents from his doctors because they were not timely filed with the division 10 days prior to the hearing. While he apparently contends that he was not aware of this requirement, this contention cannot be sustained. In addition to the fact that it is the practice of the division when sending notice of the hearing to include an information sheet explaining the rights and obligations of the parties, including the requirement to submit a list of witnesses and exhibits to be used at the hearing, the ALJ commented on the record that when she had spoken to the complainant several days before the hearing that he confirmed that he understood about the requirement to submit exhibits prior to the hearing. (T. 39)

cc: Robert E. Schreiber, Jr.

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