IN THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS 

----ooOoo---- 

JMR Enterprises, Inc. dba 
Encore Grill, 
Petitioner, 

v. 

Workforce Appeals Board, 
Department of Workforce 
Services; and Nilla C. 
Sleater, 
Respondents. 

MEMORANDUM DECISION 
(Not For Official Publication) 
Case No. 20051133-CA 
F I L E D 
(June 29, 2006) 
2006 UT App 271 

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Original Proceeding in this Court 
Attorneys: Michael R. Sciumbato, Orem, for Petitioner 
Suzan Pixton, Salt Lake City, for Respondent 
Workforce Appeals Board, Department of Workforce 
Services 
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Before Judges Billings, McHugh, and Orme. 

PER CURIAM: 

JMR Enterprises, Inc. (Encore Grill) petitions for judicial 
review of the decision of the Workforce Appeals Board of the 
Department of Workforce Services (the Appeals Board). Encore 
Grill argues that the Appeals Board erred in determining that 
Nilla C. Sleater was discharged without cause from her employment 
at Encore Grill. We affirm. 

Encore Grill alleges that there was insufficient evidence to 
support the Appeals Board and the Administrative Law Judge's 
(ALJ) findings that Encore Grill discharged Sleater. It argues 
that the evidence supported a finding that Sleater voluntarily 
quit her employment. A review of the record reveals that Encore 
Grill and Sleater gave differing accounts of the events leading 
to the termination of her employment. "This court grants great 
deference to an agency's findings, and will uphold them if they 
are 'supported by substantial evidence when viewed in light of 
the whole record before the court.'" Albertsons, Inc. v. 
Department of Employment Sec., 854 P.2d 570, 575 (Utah Ct. App.
1993) (citation omitted). Further, "[w]e defer to the Board's 
assessment of conflicting evidence. . . . 'It is the province of 
the Board, not appellate courts, to resolve conflicting evidence, 
and where inconsistent inferences can be drawn from the same 
evidence, it is for the Board to draw the inferences.'" Id. 
(citation omitted). Sleater's testimony, if believed, was 
sufficient to support the Appeals Board's finding that Sleater 
was discharged. 

Encore Grill also argues that the Board ignored its own 
rules in determining that Sleater was discharged. Specifically, 
it argues that Sleater's termination from her employment should 
be viewed as a quit because under the administrative rules, a 
separation is viewed as a quit "if a worker announces an intent 
to quit but agrees to continue working for an indefinite period 
as determined by the employer, even though the date of separation 
was determined by the employer." Utah Admin. Code R.994-405- 
106(6)(a). However, the record, taken as a whole, reveals that 
the Appeals Board did not believe that Sleater had ever announced 
an intent to quit, and thereby never implicated that rule.1 
Further, the Appeals Board's finding that Sleater was 
discharged necessarily indicates that Sleater did not voluntarily 
quit her employment with Encore Grill. The Appeals Board was not 
required to make a specific finding that Sleater did not 
voluntarily quit her employment. 

The evidence also supports the Appeals Board's findings and 
subsequent conclusion that Sleater was not terminated with "just 
cause." To establish that a person is discharged with just 
cause, a party must demonstrate that the employee's conduct that 
led to her discharge involved culpability, knowledge and control. 
See Bhatia v. Department of Employment Sec., 834 P.2d 574, 577 
(Utah Ct. App. 1992). Each such element is described by the Utah 
Administrative Code. See Utah Admin. Code R.994-405-202 (2005). 
Because the Appeals Board and the ALJ believed the testimony of 
Sleater, the record is sufficient to support the Appeals Board's 
finding that Encore Grill failed to prove culpability, knowledge
and control. Accordingly, the conclusion that Sleater was not 
terminated for just cause is supported by the record and will not 
be disturbed on appeal. See Albertsons, Inc., 854 P.2d at 575. 

Affirmed. 
______________________________ 
Judith M. Billings, Judge 
______________________________ 
Carolyn B. McHugh, Judge 
______________________________ 
Gregory K. Orme, Judge



NOTES:

1It also appears that Encore Grill makes this argument for 
the first time on appeal. At the hearing before the ALJ, Encore 
Grill alleged that Sleater gave two weeks notice. If such was 
the case, Sleater's separation would have been viewed as a 
discharge. See Utah Admin. Code R.999-405-106(6)(b) (stating 
that a separation is a discharge if employee gives a date certain 
for separation and is relieved of her responsibilities before 
that date). It was not until this appeal that Encore Grill 
argued that Sleater announced an intent to quit but to continue 
working for an indefinite period.