Challenging not being selected for a provisional appointment
Cameron v Church, 309 AD2d 747
Is an individual entitled to a court order directing his or her provisional appointment or promotion to a position if there is proof that the reason for the applicant's nonselection was bias on the part of the individual making the employment decision? This was the issue in the Cameron case.
Terence R. Cameron challenged Westchester County's Commissioner of Transportation Marvin Church's appointment of Florence Petronio as a provisional “Program Specialist.” He obtained a court order from State Supreme Court Justice Nastasi directing Church to appoint him to the position.
Although the Appellate Division vacated Justice Nastasi's ordering Cameron's appointment to the position, it upheld the lower court's finding that Church's decision to reject Cameron's promotion request was arbitrary and capricious. The court said that the County failed to introduce any proof to controvert Cameron's evidence that he was denied the requested promotion “because of the personal animosity of Church towards his cousin.”
Although the Appellate Division held that Cameron was not entitled to an order directing that he be given the provisional promotion he wanted, it said that he was entitled to “consideration of his application on the merits, without improper factors” and remanded the matter to the lower court for further action.