New York Public Personnel Law: Employee served with disciplinary charges alleging horseplay involving threats with an “imitation” handgun

October 21, 2010

Employee served with disciplinary charges alleging horseplay involving threats with an “imitation” handgun

Employee served with disciplinary charges alleging horseplay involving threats with an “imitation” handgun

Materials For the Arts (MFTA) is a program within the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs that collects donated materials and makes them available to not-for-profit arts groups.

Jesse Charland managed a warehouse where items donated to MFTA, including theatre props, are inventoried and stored.

Charland was served with disciplinary charges pursuant to §75 of the Civil Service Law alleging that he had pointed a replica of a handgun at a supervisor while making threatening comments about “going postal” and needing only “one bullet.”

OATH Administrative Law Judge Kevin Casey credited the supervisor's testimony that the gun looked real and that she felt threatened.

As for Charland's claim that he was only joking, even Charland's witness acknowledged that if one was unfamiliar with Charland's sarcastic sense of humor, “you would take” it as a threat.

ALJ Casey also found that Charland disobeyed orders and was discourteous. The penalty recommended by the ALJ: termination.

Other disciplinary actions taken against public employees involved in “practical jokes” or “horseplay” include:

1. The Corning City School District charging a teacher with using physical force against a student -- pinching the student with a pair of pliers. Disciplinary Hearing Officer James R. Markowitz did not accept the teacher's efforts to excuse the episode as merely classroom "horseplay" and suspended the teacher for two weeks without pay. [NYS Department of Education Disciplinary File 3310].

2. Disciplinary action taken against a supervisor who engaged in a number of off-duty practical jokes resulted the supervisor’s demotion and being placed on a disciplinary probation for six-months [Sguanci v Commissioner of Public Works, Broome County, 158 AD2d 788].

3. A teacher being suspended without pay for one-year after playing practical joke on a supervisor using a fake spider. [Decisions of the Commissioner of Education, 10842].

The decision, Dept. of Cultural Affairs v Charland, OATH #1766/10, is posted on the Internet at: http://archive.citylaw.org/oath/10_Cases/10-1766.pdf
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