Lafayette Brown, Jr. v. Georgia Department of Revenue, Harry White

I

In September 1981, the Georgia Department of Revenue hired appellee Lafayette Brown as a Tax Field Agent. After completing his working test period in September 1982, appellee became a permanent employee under the Georgia Merit Systems Act. See Ga.Code Ann. § 45-20-1 to -15 (1982 & Supp.1988). Among other things, the Merit Systems Act provides permanent employees with procedural protections against actions that adversely affect an employee’s employment status. See id. § 45-20-8 (Supp.1988).

On Monday morning, May 7, 1984, appel-lee became seriously ill and did not report for work. From…