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New York Public Personnel Law 

Summaries of and commentaries on, selected court and administrative decisions and related matters affecting public employers and employees in New York State.
Post Frequency: 10.2/day Last Entry: November 05, 2020 at 10:02:02 Recent Entries: 3029
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Request for union representation
Posted on June 16, 2008Request for union representationLocal 100, TWU and NYC Transit Authority, 35 PERB 4563 PERB Administrative Law [ALJ] Judge Angela M. Blassman ruled that the New York Transit Authority violated Section 209-a.1(a) and (c) of the Civil Service Law [the Taylor Law] when it rejected an employee's request that a union representative be present when he was asked to prepare a written statement in the presence of Authority supervisors...
Violating workplace rules
Posted on June 16, 2008Violating workplace rulesSmith v Commissioner of Labor, App. Div., 3rd Dept 296 A.D.2d 803 Violating the employer's policy or work rules concerning sexual harassment may not only result in the termination of the employee. It may also disqualify the individual for unemployment insurance benefits...
Tenure by estoppel
Posted on June 16, 2008Tenure by estoppelDembovich v Liberty CSD, App. Div., 3rd Dept., 296 A.D.2d 794 The basic rule concerning granting tenure to a probationary teacher or administrator is that although a school board may reject a superintendent's recommendation to grant the probationer tenure, a school board may not grant a probationary employee tenure unless the superintendent recommends that it grant that individual tenure...
City of New York Sanctioned In Employment Discrimination Case Involving Teacher Due To Repeated Failures To Comply With Discovery
Posted on June 16, 2008City of New York Sanctioned In Employment Discrimination Case Involving Teacher Due To Repeated Failures To Comply With DiscoverySource: Adjunct Law Prof Blog; http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/adjunctprofs/ Reproduced with permission. Copyright © 2008, Mitchell H...
Employees May Be Personally Liable For Employment Discrimination Under New York Law
Posted on June 15, 2008Employees May Be Personally Liable For Employment Discrimination Under New York LawReproduced with permission. Copyright © 2008, Mitchell H. Rubinstein, Esq., Adjunct Professor of Law, St. Johns Law School and New York Law School, All rights reserved...
The Discipline Book
Posted on June 14, 2008The Discipline Book ? an electronic handbook for administrators, union officials and attorneys involved in disciplinary actions taken against public officers and employees ? is now available from the BookLocker. If you win, or better yet, avoid, one lawsuit or grievance based on information found in The Discipline Book you probably will save many times its price...
Employer cannot make unauthorized deductions
Posted on June 13, 2008Employer cannot make unauthorized deductionsSource: Adjunct Law Prof Blog; http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/adjunctprofs/ Reproduced with permission. Copyright © 2008, Mitchell H. Rubinstein, Esq., Adjunct Professor of Law, St. Johns Law School and New York Law School, All rights reserved...
Workers? Compensation benefits resulting as a participant in an ?off-duty athletic event? depends of the nature of the employer?s sponsorship of the a
Posted on June 13, 2008Workers? Compensation benefits resulting as a participant in an ?off-duty athletic event? depends of the nature of the employer?s sponsorship of the activity Matter of Huff v Department of Corrections, 2008 NY Slip Op 05422, Decided on June 12, 2008, Appellate Division, Third DepartmentThe Workers' Compensation Board ruled that Cheryl Huff?s injury arose out of and in the course of her employment...
Law office failure results in a default judgment against the NYC Teachers? Retirement System
Posted on June 13, 2008Law office failure results in a default judgment against the NYC Teachers? Retirement SystemMatter of Rownd v Teachers? Retirement Sys. of the City of New York, 2008 NY Slip Op 05368, Decided on June 12, 2008, Appellate Division, First Department R...
Imposing a disciplinary penalty
Posted on June 13, 2008Imposing a disciplinary penaltyToth v Nassau County PD, App. Div., 2nd Dept., 296 A.D.2d 575, 302 AD2d 600 Was suspending a police officer found guilty of a number of charges of misconduct without pay for 270 days lawful? After all, the Section 75 of the Civil Service Law limits such a suspension without pay for a period not to exceed two months...
Evaluating conflicting testimony
Posted on June 13, 2008Evaluating conflicting testimonyCass v Commissioner of Labor, App. Div., 3rd Dept., 296 A.D.2d 759 It is not uncommon for an administrative body to receive conflicting testimony during a hearing. Such was the situation in the Cass case. Donald M. Cass applied for and was granted unemployment insurance benefits...
Discipline settlements
Posted on June 13, 2008Discipline settlementsSills v Keric, NYS Supreme Court, Ia Part 30, Justice Heitler, affd, 5 A.D.3d 247, appeal denied 3 NY3d 610 New York City police officer Edward Sills was terminated from his position pursuant to a "Terminate Probation Agreement" that he had signed to settle an earlier disciplinary action...
Governor proposes legislation to extend health care benefits to to 9/11 workers
Posted on June 13, 2008Governor proposes legislation to provide health care benefits to 9/11 workersSource: Press release issued by the Governor's Press OfficeGovernor David A. Paterson today announced plans to submit legislation to cover additional public workers who risked their health and safety in the rescue, recovery and clean-up efforts at the World Trade Center after the attacks of September 11, 2001...
FMLA Does Not Support Retaliation Claim Based on Association with Employee Who Opposed Unlawful Practices
Posted on June 12, 2008FMLA Does Not Support Retaliation Claim Based on Association with Employee Who Opposed Unlawful PracticesSource: The FMLA Blog - http://federalfmla.typepad.com/fmla_blog/ Copyright © 2008. All rights reserved by Carl C. Bosland, Esq. Reproduced with permission...
Bringing discredit on the employer
Posted on June 12, 2008Bringing discredit on the employerWilburn v McMahon, App. Div., 3rd Dept., 296 A.D.2d 805 From time to time disciplinary charges alleging misconduct because the employee's actions discredited the employer in the eyes of the public are filed against an employee...
Some decisions concerning using civil service eligible lists
Posted on June 12, 2008Some decisions concerning using civil service eligible listsSource: Various inquiriesReaders recently submitted questions concerning "processing civil service eligible lists." Among some issues presented concerned:Expedited examination: An individual on an eligibile list was not entitled to an expedited medical and psychological examination before the existing eligibility list expires...
To establish affirmative defense to hostile environment claim employer must take prompt remedial action
Posted on June 12, 2008To establish affirmative defense to hostile environment claim employer must take prompt remedial actionSource: Adjunct Law Prof Blog; http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/adjunctprofs/ Reproduced with permission. Copyright © 2008, Mitchell H. Rubinstein, Esq...
Suspension without pay
Posted on June 12, 2008Suspension without payElmore v Mills, App. Div., 3rd Dept., 299 A.D.2d 545, Motion for leave to appeal denied, 9 N.Y.2d 509 Among the several issues considered by the Appellate Division, Third Department in Elmore case was the suspension of a tenured teacher without pay in the course of a disciplinary action...
Executive secretary not covered under Title VII by virture of the personal staff exemption
Posted on June 11, 2008Executive secretary not covered under Title VII by virture of the personal staff exemption A little known provision of Title VII is the personal staff exemption for certain employees who work for senior level government officials. The Fifth Circuit in Saddler v...
Disciplinary rulings and penalty recommendations issued by New York City OATH administrative law judges
Posted on June 11, 2008Disciplinary rulings and penalty recommendations issued by New York City OATH administrative law judges[Click on case citation to read the full text of the ruling]Asking for a kiss found to be unprofessional conductDep't of Housing Preservation & Development v...
Proving disciplinary charges
Posted on June 11, 2008Proving disciplinary chargesFerguson v Traficanti, App. Div., 3rd Dept., 295 A.D.2d 786 Desiree Ferguson was found guilty of some of the thirty specifications of misconduct and incompetence filed against her. The hearing officer found Ferguson guilty of seventeen of these thirty specifications and recommended that she be dismissed from her position of Senior Office Assistant with the Schenectady City Court...
Election of remedies
Posted on June 11, 2008Election of remediesMatter of Coughlin, Comm. of Education Decision 14,751 When there two or more procedures available to an individual seeking redress for an alleged wrong, his or her selection of one particular remedy will generally foreclose seeking one of the alternative remedies otherwise available at a later date...
A tension between the ADA and employee misconduct
Posted on June 11, 2008A tension between the ADA and employee misconductSource: Adjunct Law Prof Blog; http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/adjunctprofs/ Reproduced with permission. Copyright © 2008, Mitchell H. Rubinstein, Esq., Adjunct Professor of Law, St. Johns Law School and New York Law School, All rights reserved...
Dismissal and workers' compensation leave
Posted on June 11, 2008Dismissal and workers' compensation leaveLynn v Clarkstown, App. Div., 2nd Dept., 296 A.D.2d 411 Town of Clarkstown police officer John Lynn challenged his termination from employment while on workers' compensation leave pursuant to Section 71 of the Civil Service Law...
US Supreme Court holds that government offices could not function if every employment decision became a constitutional matter
Posted on June 10, 2008US Supreme Court holds that government offices could not function if every employment decision became a constitutional matterAnup Engquist v Oregon Department of Agriculture, USCA, 07-474, Decided June 9, 2008 [On Cert from CA 9th Circuit, 478 F. 3d 985] Anup Engquist, an Oregon public employee, sued her employer claiming unlawful discrimination and alleging that she was fired not because she was a member of an identified class, in contrast to her discrimination claims, for arbitrary, vindictive, and malicious reasons...
Employer found to have unlawfully discriminated against employee because of age to pay back salary and an award for mental anguish and humiliation
Posted on June 10, 2008Employer found to have unlawfully discriminated against employee because of age to pay back salary and an award for mental anguish and humiliationMatter of New York State Tug Hill Commn. v New York State Div. of Human Rights, 2008 NY Slip Op 05110, Decided on June 6, 2008, Appellate Division, Fourth Department Clark Waring Blackburn, Jr...
Employer Cannot Require That Employee Waive Rights Under A Collective Bargaining Agreement Without Notice To Union
Posted on June 10, 2008Employer Cannot Require That Employee Waive Rights Under A Collective Bargaining Agreement Without Notice To UnionSource: Adjunct Law Prof Blog; http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/adjunctprofs/ Reproduced with permission. Copyright © 2008, Mitchell H. Rubinstein, Esq...
Disciplinary dismissal not discrimination
Posted on June 10, 2008Disciplinary dismissal not discriminationMyrick v NYC Employees' Retirement System, USSC, Cert. Denied, 540 US 912 According to Albert Myrick, his former employer, the New York City Employees' Retirement System [NYCERS] fired him in retaliation for his charging that his superiors discriminated against him in violation of Title VII...
Searching an employer?s computer for evidence of employee misconduct
Posted on June 09, 2008Searching an employer?s computer for evidence of employee misconductPeople v David E. Wilkinson; People v Michael Casey, 2008 NY Slip Op 28192, Decided on May 22, 2008, Onondaga County Ct, Fahey, J David Wilkinson and Michael Casey were each charged with the crimes of Defrauding the Government in violation of Section 195...
Appellate Division rules that change in employer?s illegal drug policy should not be applied retroactively
Posted on June 09, 2008Appellate Division rules that change in employer?s illegal drug policy should not be applied retroactivelyMatter of Kevin O'Neill v City of New York, 2008 NY Slip Op 05020, Decided on June 5, 2008, Appellate Division, First DepartmentThe New York City Fire Department's Commissioner terminated firefighter Kevin O?Neil because he tested positive for marijuana during a random drug test...
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Dumb New York Laws
Stupid Laws in the Empire State
New York Building Codes
Building and constructions laws in New York
Selection of State Supreme Court Judges
How State Court Judges are Selected
Can a probation officer make a decision that involves a medical decision and prohibit a person from leaving a state to get medical help?
well if you could get him to a mental health facility they could screen him for ...
I have worked for this employer for only three weeks. The employer makes up his own rules as to what he chooses to report for the purpose of property taxes. He tells me to "let them come after us". He defines Entertain
He arrogantly insists, "let them come after us." Well, if you are invo...
Haw can I join with my family who live in the USA?
Only you are allowed to can join your sister....
Does a Chapter 7 bankruptcy discharge a secured mortgage loan?
Yes if you file they cannot sue you to the knowledge I know. My brother is in re...
How to prevent an arrest from appearing in the local newspaper?
Dont know the law in Minnesota but in most jurisdictions an arrest is a matter o...

Can a probation officer make a decision that involves a medical decision and prohibit a person from leaving a state to get medical help?
well if you could get him to a mental health facility they could screen him for ...
I have worked for this employer for only three weeks. The employer makes up his own rules as to what he chooses to report for the purpose of property taxes. He tells me to "let them come after us". He defines Entertain
He arrogantly insists, "let them come after us." Well, if you are invo...
Haw can I join with my family who live in the USA?
Only you are allowed to can join your sister....
Does a Chapter 7 bankruptcy discharge a secured mortgage loan?
Yes if you file they cannot sue you to the knowledge I know. My brother is in re...
How to prevent an arrest from appearing in the local newspaper?
Dont know the law in Minnesota but in most jurisdictions an arrest is a matter o...








