Dismissal of action to place employee on involuntary Section 72.1 leave recommended
Oath Administrative Law Judge Joan Salzman recommended dismissal of the Housing Authority’s petition seeking to place a housing assistant on involuntary leave pursuant to Section 72 of the Civil Service Law.
Although the employee has a seizure disorder, and has had seizures while at work, the ALJ ruled that the Authority did not prove that his condition rendered him currently unfit to perform his duties.
The ALJ noted that the individual has only recently been given a correct diagnosis and treatment and that he demonstrated a continuing ability to perform his job.
As the Court of Appeals held in Matter of Sheeran v New York State Dept. of Transp., 18 NY3d 61 [Decided with Birnbaum v NYS Department of Labor], the procedural safeguards set out in Civil Service Law §72.1 are available to an employee if employer bars his or her return to work from sick leave.
A summary of the Court of Appeals’ ruling is posted on the Internet at:
http://publicpersonnellaw.blogspot.com/2011/11/procedural-safeguards-set-out-in-civil.html