Individual has no right to have another position created should the program in which he or she served is discontinued
Niroomand v. St. Lawrence County Board of Legislators, 82 A.D.2d 939
When the County Laboratory System was discontinued, hospitals using the service were expected to obtain laboratory service elsewhere or provide their own.
The former Director of the County Laboratory was not hired by any of the hospitals. She then attempted to compel the County to grant her permanent Civil Service status, retroactively, and then appoint her to an appropriate position pursuant to Section 70 of the Civil Service Law, or place her on a preferred list (Section 80, CSL).
The Appellate Division decided that there was no transfer of functions that would serve to entitle the former employee to a Section 70 transfer, noting that the closing of the Laboratory was to save money and avoid a duplication of services.
Holding the question of granting permanent civil service status academic, the court observed that even if Niroomand held such status, she was neither entitled to employment by any of the hospitals nor to placement on a preferred list because “it is unlikely that a County Laboratory will be re-established and there is no one whom [Niroomand] can displace”.
Significantly, the court indicated that the hospitals involved do not have to create a position for her.
N.B. Placement on a preferred list flows from a right created by Section 80 of the Civil Service Law, not whether placement pursuant to Section 81 of such law is expected or materializes.
