Rafti v. Dep't of Human Servs.

2020 IL App (2d) 190983

170 N.E.3d 214

446 Ill.Dec. 388

Louis RAFTI, Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.The DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES, DIVISION OF REHABILITATION SERVICES, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 2-19-0983

Appellate Court of Illinois, Second District.

Opinion filed September 23, 2020

Louis A. Rafti, of Woodstock, appellant pro se.

Kwame Raoul, Attorney General, of Chicago (Jane Elinor Notz, Solicitor General, and Priyanka Gupta, Assistant Attorney General, of counsel), for appellee.

JUSTICE BRIDGES delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

¶ 1 Plaintiff, Louis Rafti, was found eligible to receive vocational rehabilitation services from defendant, the Department of Human Services Division of Rehabilitation Services (Department). Rafti thereafter sought $5017 in funding to enroll in a paralegal certificate program. The Department denied the request, finding that additional college training was not necessary for Rafti to obtain employment as a paralegal, because Rafti had a Juris Doctor degree and had practiced law in California for many years. Rafti filed an administrative appeal, and after a hearing, the hearing officer issued a final administrative decision affirming the Department's determination. Rafti sought judicial review, and the circuit court of McHenry County affirmed. Rafti timely appeals pro se . The issue on appeal is whether the hearing officer's decision, affirming the Department's determination that the paralegal program was not necessary for Rafti to obtain employment as a paralegal, was clearly erroneous. We affirm.

¶ 2 I. BACKGROUND

¶ 3 On February 23, 2018, Rafti was informed via a letter from the Department that he had been found eligible to receive vocational rehabilitation services. The Department advised Rafti that, although he had previously submitted information to the Department about obtaining both real estate and paralegal training, Rafti must choose one career objective and submit all the required documentation, which was noted on an attached checklist. Thereafter, the request would be submitted to a Department supervisor for review.

¶ 4 On May 15, 2018, Rafti submitted a letter to the Department, requesting $5017 in funding to pay for his enrollment in the "McHenry County College Paralegal Certificate Program" (the paralegal program). Rafti included his resume, which indicated that he graduated from Southwestern Law School in July 2004, passed the California bar exam in February 2005, and practiced public interest law until 2010. Rafti also detailed numerous "legal and personal achievements" not included on his resume. Rafti stated that "[a]lthough it has been a number of years since [he] had to stop practicing law because of [his] health, during the interim, [he] ha[s] had the opportunity to maintain and utilize [his] legal skills." He described serving as "Trustee of [his] family's Trust" and "successfully litigating a Complaint for Administrative Review in pro se [sic ], against the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority. [It] involved an entirely new area of legal research, regarding this area of the law in particular, and Illinois law in general."

¶ 5 On June 20, 2018, Rafti submitted an "addendum" to the May 15 letter. In the letter, Rafti explained that, "[a]lthough [he] completed law school, passed the bar exam, and practiced law in California for five years," he became disabled in 2010 and was no longer able to work. A " ‘clerical error’ " in January 2014 resulted in a nine-month loss of Social Security disability payments. During that time, Rafti was unable to pay his bar fees or the cost of required continuing legal education and, as a result, lost his license to practice law. Rafti moved to Illinois, but he could not afford to study for and take the Illinois bar exam. He asserted that, even though the cost to become a licensed attorney in Illinois would be less than the cost of the paralegal program, his disability made success in reentering the workforce as an attorney unlikely.

¶ 6 On June 28, 2018, the Department notified Rafti, via letter, that his request for additional college training had been reviewed by a supervisor and denied. According to the letter, the supervisor found that "[c]ollege training is not necessary for [Rafti] to obtain employment" and that "the Juris Doctor degree * * * should open more opportunity than a Para-Legal Studies Certificate."

¶ 7 On July 26, 2018, Rafti appealed the Department's decision to deny him funding to enroll in the paralegal program. In his "Brief in Support of Appeal," Rafti argued that the paralegal certificate was "necessary" because he needed to learn "technical functions" such as electronic document handling, be retrained in legal research and writing, and learn Illinois law. As evidence, Rafti submitted (1) the February 23, 2018, letter from the Department finding him eligible for services, (2) his June 20, 2018, addendum, and (3) a previously filed grievance against the McHenry County College, Department of Financial Aid, alleging disability discrimination when he was denied a front desk position. He also argued that the Department had not developed his individualized employment plan within the requisite 90 days.

¶ 8 The Department submitted a response and several exhibits. The Department explained that, although it agreed with Rafti's decision to seek employment as a paralegal, Rafti failed to present any evidence that he could not do so with his existing skills and qualifications. The Department further stated that Rafti refused to attempt to find a paralegal job without first obtaining the paralegal certificate.

¶ 9 A telephonic hearing took place on September 6, 2018. Rafti was present in propria persona . Rehabilitation counselor Joseph O'Donnell and Department supervisor Maria Martinez-McKinley appeared for the Department.

¶ 10 Rafti testified that the preponderance of the evidence showed that the Department's denial of his request to fund paralegal training violated the law and was unsupported by documentation. Consistent with the arguments in his brief, Rafti testified that he did not possess the necessary skills to become a paralegal. Rafti testified that he has HIV/AIDS, chronic kidney disease, and diabetes and, as a result, has been disabled for the past eight years and unable to work. He stated that he was also disabled for three years beginning in March 1990. He argued that he was not experienced with the required technology, such as electronic document handling and online legal research programs. He also argued that he needed to "refresh" his research and writing skills and learn Illinois law. Rafti denied being told by the Department to apply for paralegal positions. He also argued that the Department failed to provide him with an individualized plan for employment within 90 days as required.

¶ 11 Martinez-McKinley testified for the Department. She stated:

"Mr. Rafti[,] just based on this hearing you have proven to me that you have the ability to work as a paralegal. You've demonstrated your ability to understand written information, understand spoken information, do research, present clearly, read and understand, write clearly. You've demonstrated that you have the ability to work as a paralegal. You've not demonstrated that you seeked [sic ] employment and you haven't been able to get it. And so if our purpose is to help individuals with disabilities obtain entry level employment and you're saying at this point the entry level employment that you are seeking is to work as a paralegal, [the Department's] * * * position, [and] Mr. O'Donnell's position[,] is that you have a skill set that can afford you the ability to work as a paralegal and that we should try and obtain employment for you as a paralegal."

Martinez-McKinley noted that the Department's decision to deny Rafti funding was based on the fact that he had obtained a law degree and that he had practiced law for over six years in California. She asserted that Rafti's "experience practicing law and experience conducting himself in a hearing, [and] information that * * * he's filed grievances with [McHenry County College] * * *, [and] sued Illinois Department of Transportation * * *[,] all goes to show that Mr. Rafti has the skill set to work in a paralegal environment." Martinez-McKinley testified that "there's nothing that we have in your file that lets me know that, one, employers are telling you, well, in order for me to hire you as a paralegal you have to have a paralegal certificate." She stated that "some employers prefer to do their own training." She reaffirmed: "I don't have anything that tells me that you've tried to get employment as a paralegal and you can't because you don't have a paralegal certificate."

¶ 12 Martinez-McKinley also testified that the Department had multiple resources available to assist Rafti in securing employment. Martinez-McKinley testified that O'Donnell could help Rafti apply for the state's Successful Disability Opportunity Program, which would place Rafti's name on a list of qualified paralegals for all state positions. Martinez-McKinley testified that O'Donnell was "an expert at submitting this information" and that he could help Rafti get qualified and graded as a paralegal for state employment. While testifying, Martinez-McKinley found four paralegal postings on the state website. Martinez-McKinley explained that, once Rafti was qualified for a position, he would be contacted for the interview. Rafti responded: "[T]hat sounds promising, but I still think that I'd rather go with something that I think is a sure bet, which is get the training for that." Martinez-McKinley read the job description for one of the postings, which included the following minimum requirement: " ‘Requires knowledge, skill and mental development equivalent to completion of four years of college with core work in such areas as legal, [inaudible], English, statistics or directly related course work. Preferably requires a Paralegal Certificate.’ "...