Refusal to accept assignments ruled misconduct
NYC Transit Authority v Alday, OATH Index #475/12
The New York City Transit Authority charged a civil engineer with insubordination after he had repeatedly refused to accept work reassignments given to him by his supervisor despite his subsequently complying with the supervisor’s directive after being order to do so by a higher level superior.
Rejecting the employee’s defense that he wanted to make sure it was "the official management decision” as he did not believe his temporary supervisor had the authority to “reassign people just like that,” OATH Administrative Law Judge Tynia D. Richard held that employee’s repeated refusals to accept the reassignments given to him by his temporary supervisor constituted misconduct.
Dismissing two other charges of alleged misconduct filed against the employee, Judge Richard, in consideration of the individual's “nearly clean record of discipline and 28-year tenure with the City,” recommended the Department imposed the penalty of a reprimand rather than the 15-day suspension without pay proposed by the Transit Authority.
The ALJ explained that the lesser penalty was being recommended as two of the three charges of alleged misconduct had been dismissed as the agency had “failed to prove” them.
The decision is posted on the Internet at:
http://archive.citylaw.org/oath/12_Cases/12-475.pdf