NYC Department of Sanitation employee acquitted of disciplinary charges

NYC Department of Sanitation employee acquitted of disciplinary charges

Dep’t of Sanitation v. Gonzalez (in PDF), OATH Index No. 1915/11

An OATH Administrative Law Judge found that the New York City Department of Sanitation failed to prove that a sanitation worker solicited money from an apartment building superintendent in order to remove broken furniture.

Judge John B. Spooner found that several factors, including the passage of time, an investigator’s failure to preserve a clear contemporaneous account from the complainant, and the complainant’s apparent confusion about another incident with a different worker two days later, undermined the Department’s proof and warranted dismissal of the charges.