IN THE SUPREME. COURT OF IOWA

RONALD E. NICOL, Appellant,

vs.

IOWA CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION, Appellee.


NO. 217/91-1122
FILED JULY 22,1992


Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Anthony M. Critelli, Judge.

Disabled deputy sheriff challenges denial of discrimination claim. AFFIRMED.

David H. Goldman and Candy Morgan of Black, Goldman & Powell P.D., Des Moines for appellant.

Bonnie J. Campbell, Attorney General, and Rick Autry, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.

Considered by McGiverin, C.J., and Carter, Lavorato, Neuman, and Snell, JJ.



PER CURIAM.

This appeal is brought by Ronald Nicol, a former Buchanan County deputy sheriff. Nicol seeks reversal of the district court's affirmance, on judicial review, of the civil rights commission's final order rejecting his disability discrimination claim. On appeal Nicol asserts that (1) the form of the agency's decision is inadequate as a matter of law, and (2) justice compels reinstatement of the hearing officer's proposed order rather than remand. Finding no merit in Nicol's contentions, we affirm.

Before resigning from the sheriff's department in 1985, Nicol had been a deputy for thirteen years. In the latter part of his career, he suffered from multiple sclerosis. To enable Nicol to keep working, the former sheriff had limited his duties to civil process serving and assisting the jail administrator. With the election of a new sheriff, this era of accommodation ended. Although Nicol's primary duties were still civil in nature, he was required to perform limited patrol duties, respond to emergencies when necessary, and wear a regular uniform. Ultimately Nicol quit because he could not fulfill those duties. In a complaint before the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, he alleged constructive discharge based on the department's refusal to reasonably accommodate his disability.

Following hearing on Nicol's claim, an administrative law judge (ALJ) filed a 52-page proposed order granting him back pay and damages. On the county's appeal, the full commission reversed. In a one-page ruling, the commission deleted several of the ALJ's findings of fact and conclusions of law and then announced the following reason for its dismissal:

The finding that the Respondents had failed to accommodate Ronald E. Nicol is reversed because, in light of the record as a whole, as of the date of his resignation, Complainant Nicol no longer possessed the job qualifications as a result of his disability.

On appeal, Nicol does not challenge the agency's ultimate decision. He merely contests the form of the order. Moreover, he contends that because a remand would merely enable the agency to reconstruct its findings to reach the same conclusion, reinstatement of the ALJ's contrary order would impress upon the agency its need to comply with Iowa Code section 17A.16(l).

Although the form of the agency's final ruling does not strictly comply with section 17A.16(l), we are not left in doubt about the factual or legal basis for its conclusion. See Noriand v. Iowa Dep't of Job Serv. 412 N.W.2d 904, 909 (Iowa 1987) (no reversible error where court, through process of deductive reasoning, can easily determine basis for agency's ruling); Hurtado v. Iowa Dep't of Job Serv. 393 N.W.2d 309, 311 (Iowa 1986) (absenceof express findings excused if context makes clear the rationale for decision). The ALJ's detailed findings, incorporated by reference into the agency's final order, make it clear that Nicol could perform process serving and record keeping functions, but not any of the more physically and emotionally demanding duties of deputy sheriff. Physical fitness and mental alertness are commonly understood performance requirements for deputies. Kingsley v. Civil Serv. Comm'n, 459 N.W.2d 265, 267 (Iowa 1990). The record-and the agency's findings-contain substantial support for the conclusion that Nicol was not qualified to perform the occupation of deputy and, hence, was not subject to disability discrimination as defined by Iowa Code section 601A.6. Contrary to Nicol's suggestion, justice would not be served by remanding to the agency for a contrary finding.

AFFIRMED.