In Re the Grievance of O'Neill

An assistant attorney general, the hearing officer herein, placed the burden of proof upon the grievant to establish that he was wrongfully discharged. In effect, the warden of the South Dakota State Penitentiary was acting as the employer and discharged his employee, a correctional officer, and the burden of proof rests upon the employer to justify the dismissal and to prove up the reasons for the discharge. Hartpence v. Youth Forestry Camp, 325 N.W.2d 292 (S.D.1982). Therefore, for this reason alone, ordinarily, a reversal for a new de novo hearing where the proper burden of proof is…