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Mounds View City Council January 27, 2003 Regular Meeting Page 16 unapproved press release to patrons of the golf course. His action constituted an intent and 1 evinced an intent to ignore the warnings and directives of the employer. 2 3 On June 6, 2001 Mr. Hammerschmidt was discharged by the employer because of his pattern of 4 failing to follow directives of the employer in various matters dealing with the golf course and 5 interaction with the employees and the public. Mr. Hammerschmidt was not discharged because 6 of any potential or actual union activities on his part. 7 8 Reasons for the Decision 9 10 John Hammerschmidt was discharged from employment with the City of Mounds View. When 11 an individual is discharged from employment he is disqualified from payment of unemployment 12 benefits under Minnesota Statutes Section 268.095, Subd. 4 if discharged for reasons amounting 13 to employment misconduct. Employment misconduct is defined under Minnesota Statutes 14 Section 268.095, Subd. 6 as intentional conduct in violation of standards of behavior the 15 employer has the right to expect or negligent or indifferent conduct which shows a substantial 16 lack of concern for the employment. A disqualification from unemployment benefits under 17 Minnesota Statutes Section 268.095 begins the Sunday of the week of the applicant’s separation 18 from employment and lasts for the duration of the applicant’s unemployment and until the 19 applicant has had earnings from subsequent covered employment of eight (8) times the applicants 20 weekly benefit amount. 21 22 Mr. Hammerschmidt failed to follow the directives of the employer. Specifically, he was 23 informed that he must not act in an unprofessional manner in his communications with others. 24 Despite that explicit warning, he sent out an unauthorized press release that essentially impugned 25 the integrity of the City Administrator and the Mayor. He did this even though he was told he 26 must review any potential press release with the City Administrator prior to its issuance. 27 28 It is clear from the record that Mr. Hammerschmidt was upset about the new City 29 Administrator’s actions reviewing more closely the golf course operations. He was upset about 30 interference in a municipal golf course that he had been operating fairly independently. Because 31 of developing directives regarding the hiring of seasonal employees and issues regarding budgets, 32 Mr. Hammerschmidt was unhappy. He engaged in discussions with others as to how he could 33 undermine the credibility of the City Administrator. While the extent of this was probably not 34 known to the City Administrator prior to the time of the discharge, it is relevant because it 35 provides a context within which to better understand Mr. Hammerschmidt’s actions in failing to 36 comply with his warning note and a directive not to issue a press release without the City 37 Administrator’s approval. Because Mr. Hammerschmidt apparently believed that others were 38 conspiring to have the golf course operated in a different fashion he hired a private investigator to 39 conduct an investigation of the Mayor’s relationship with an outside entity who was being 40 considered as a potential operator of the municipal golf course. 41 42 Mr. Hammerschmidt’s actions in failing to acknowledge the authority of the City Administrator 43 and in failing to follow directives, constitutes insubordination. It is employment misconduct. An 44 employer has the right to expect that its employees will follow its reasonable directives and, 45