September 23, 2010

Terminating an interim appointee

Terminating an interim appointee
Amnawah v NYC Bd. of Education, 266 AD2d 455

Linda Amnawah, an interim-acting “Special Education Review Specialist,” was terminated from her position by the New York City Board of Education.. She sued, seeking reinstatement to her former position. A State Supreme Court justice dismissed her petition.

In affirming the lower court’s determination, the Appellate Division quickly disposed of Amnawah appeal, commenting that because she was a “non-tenured, interim-acting employee,” the board of education could terminate her employment without any statement of reasons, provided that the termination was not made in bad faith or for impermissible reasons.

The court said that while Amnawah had the burden of proving that her termination was made in bad faith or was for an impermissible reason she only offered “conclusory, unsupported, and irrelevant arguments” to this end. Thus, said the court, Amnawah failed to sustain her evidentiary burden and dismissed her appeal.
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