After being fired from his job at Sheila J. Butler and Company, Inc. “the employer”, Danny Barnett applied for unemployment compensation benefits under Georgia’s Employment Security Law, OCGA § 34-8-1 et seq. The employer challenged Barnett’s application for unemployment benefits, contending that he was fired for violating orders, rules, or instructions, or for failing to perform duties of his employment, and was thus disqualified for benefits under OCGA § 34-8-194 2 A. A Department of Labor claims examiner determined that Barnett was qualified to receive unemployment benefits, and the employer appealed. After a hearing, an administrative hearing officer determined that Barnett was disqualified for benefits, and this decision was affirmed by the Department’s Board of Review the “Board” and then by the Superior Court of Carroll County. Pursuant to a granted application for discretionary appeal, Barnett appeals, contending that there was no evidence that he knew or should have known that the conduct his employer found objectionable could have resulted in termination and, therefore, that the Board erred in finding that his termination was caused by his conscious, deliberate fault.1 For the reasons explained below, we reverse and remand.
Under OCGA § 50-13-19, which governs judicial review of contested administrative decisions, “judicial review of an administrative decision requires the court to determine whether the findings of fact are supported by any evidence and to examine the soundness of the conclusions of law that are based upon the findings of fact.” Citation and punctuation omitted. Pruitt Corp. v. Ga. Dept. of Community Health, 284 Ga. 158, 160 3 664 SE2d 223 2008. The reviewing court “accepts the agency’s findings of fact if there is any evidence to support the findings, but the court may reverse or modify an agency decision . . . upon a determination that the agency’s application of the law to the facts is erroneous.” Citations and punctuation omitted. Id. at 161 3.2 Thus, in reviewing a decision of the Board that an employee is disqualified from receiving unemployment compensation benefits, the reviewing court must affirm the decision of the Board, in the absence of legal error, if the Board’s decision is supported by any competent evidence in the administrative record. Williams v. Butler, __Ga. App.__ Case No. A13A0552, decided June 12, 2013; see also N. Fulton Regional Hosp. v. Pearce-Williams, 312 Ga. App. 388, 390 718 SE2d 583 2011 physical precedent only; Trent Tube v. Hurston, 261 Ga. App. 525 583 SE2d 198 2003. However, the Board’s application of the law to the facts is reviewed de novo. Pruitt Corp. v. Ga. Dept. of Community Health, 284 Ga. at 161 3; N. Fulton Regional Hosp. v. Pearce-Williams, 312 Ga. App. at 390; Trent Tube v. Hurston, 261 Ga. App. at 525.
