No claim for back pay upon reinstatement
Koppman v. Board of Education, 95 A.D.2d 777
If a probationary employee reinstated to his or her former position was not removed from the position unlawfully “neither the Constitution nor New York State Law recognizes the right of a reinstated probationer to an award of back pay”.
This, in a nutshell was the conclusion of the Appellate Divisions in the Koppman case.
The court’s rationale: “In the absence of a statute requiring the payment of back pay, the public employer is not required to pay back wages as the payment of such compensation without the performance of service would constitute an unconstitutional gift of public funds (Article 8, Section 1, of the State Constitution).”
