Brewington v. N.C. Dep't Of Pub. SafetyÂ, 254 N.C. App. 1

Background

Christine Brewington, an SBI Special Agent since 1998, was dismissed June 11, 2015 for allegedly consuming alcohol while on duty (Sept. 3, 2014) and for being untruthful during the ensuing internal investigation.
On Sept. 3, 2014 Brewington and Elizabeth Collier (NC Pharmacy Board) ate a working lunch at the Sports Zone; Collier later reported seeing two pink, goblet‑style mixed drinks and believed they contained alcohol.
Brewington paid the restaurant bill with her card (receipt listed 2 mixed drinks and 3 beers). She told SBI investigators she had drunk nonalcoholic "Sprite Delights" and later denied drinking alcohol; a polygraph indicated deception on whether she drank that day.
SBI investigated, held a pre‑disciplinary conference, and dismissed Brewington; the EAC recommended overturning the dismissal, but SBI Deputy Director Sutton and Director Collier upheld dismissal after review of the investigation, Brewigton’s disciplinary history, and consultations.
Brewington appealed to OAH; the ALJ found Brewington had consumed alcohol on duty and made untrue statements to investigators, and concluded DPS had just cause to dismiss. The Court of Appeals affirmed.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence that Brewington consumed alcohol and lied (just cause)	ALJ lacked substantial evidence; testimony and hearsay favored Brewington (servers and friend) — findings were speculative	ALJ credibility determinations and inferences (timing, receipt, inconsistent statements, polygraph) provided substantial evidence	Affirmed: whole‑record review supports ALJ findings that she drank and was untruthful; that conduct was just cause for dismissal
Exclusion of witness statements and EAC refusal to permit live testimony	Exclusion of server’s statement and denial of live testimony to EAC deprived Brewington of evidence and due process	ALJ excluded the server statement for credibility/probative value; EAC considered written summaries and Brewington had post‑termination OAH process	Affirmed: ALJ permissibly limited unreliable evidence; post‑termination procedures (OAH) satisfied due process; EAC procedures did not deny meaningful hearing
Adequacy of SBI internal investigation and failure to record interview	Investigation was cursory and spoliated evidence because interview wasn’t audio/video recorded	SBI policy disallows recording non‑custodial interviews; agent contemporaneous notes corroborated by second agent sufficed	Affirmed: no legal requirement to record; method was permissible and did not render process arbitrary
Consideration of just‑cause factors and decision‑maker testimony	Director Collier’s failure to testify and alleged failure to address all Personnel Manual/Wetherington factors rendered dismissal arbitrary	Deputy Director Sutton testified about her review and recommendation; Wetherington requires discretion and consideration of factors, not literal checklist	Affirmed: Decision‑maker’s process (Sutton’s review, consultation with Collier, consideration of history and offense) satisfied requirement to weigh relevant factors; no per se rule applied

Key Cases Cited

N. Carolina Dep’t of Env’t & Nat. Res. v. Carroll, 358 N.C. 649 (2004) (establishes two‑part just‑cause inquiry and whole‑record review deference to ALJ credibility findings)
Wetherington v. N. Carolina Dep’t of Pub. Safety, 368 N.C. 583 (2015) (agency must exercise discretion and weigh factors when deciding discipline; no automatic mandatory dismissal rule)
Bulloch v. N. Carolina Dep’t of Crime Control & Pub. Safety, 223 N.C. App. 1 (2012) (termination can be arbitrary if employer fails to consider relevant medical/mitigating factors)
Peace v. Employment Sec. Comm’n of N. Carolina, 349 N.C. 315 (1998) (post‑termination administrative and judicial review satisfy procedural due process for career State employees)
Garrity v. New Jersey, 385 U.S. 493 (1967) (statements compelled under threat of job loss are protected from use in criminal proceedings)