July 24, 2013

An employee removed from his or her position by a civil service commission pursuant to Civil Service Law §50.4 is not entitled to a pre-termination hearing

An employee removed from his or her position by a civil service commission pursuant to Civil Service Law §50.4 is not entitled to a pre-termination hearing
95 AD2d 1005

Citing Mingo v Pirnie, 55 NY2d 1019, the Appellate Division ruled that "Contrary to the petitioner’s contention, her status as a permanent appointee in the competitive class of the classified civil service did not entitle her to a mandatory pretermination hearing under Civil Service Law § 75(1)(a), where the Nassau County Civil Service Commission relied upon Civil Service Law § 50(4) in revoking her payroll certification and directing the termination of her employment."

In Mingo a county civil service commission disqualified an employee following his permanent appointment and removed him from his position with the village pursuant to §50.4 of the Civil Service Law. The Commission had determined that the individual had “intentionally made false statements of material facts in his application or (had) attempted to practice (a) deception or fraud in his application”. 

The employee sued, contending that the commission could not disqualify him for employment in the position without first providing him with a pre-termination hearing.

The Court of Appeals rejected this argument, stating that §50.4 “requires no more than that the person be given a written statement of the reasons [for his or her disqualification for employment] and afforded an opportunity to make explanation and to submit facts in opposition to such disqualification. No hearing is required.”

The Commission had found that the employee had falsified his application with respect to his experience and had concealed relevant facts related to his separation from previous employment.