ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE [AI] IS NOT USED, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN PREPARING NYPPL SUMMARIES OF JUDICIAL AND QUASI-JUDICIAL DECISIONS

November 26, 2013

Educator disciplined after making statements such as "hey, baby," "how you doing baby?," and "you good baby" to underage female student


Educator disciplined after making statements such as "hey, baby," "how you doing baby?," and "you good baby" to underage female student
2013 NY Slip Op 07811, Appellate Division, First Department

A disciplinary arbitrator found a male teacher [Teacher] guilty of violating the Chancellor of the New York Department of Education’s Regulation A-421 by making statements such as "hey, baby," "how you doing baby?," and "you good baby" on multiple occasions to his underage female student. The penalty imposed by the arbitrator: a fine in the amount of $1,500 to be withdrawn in equal installments from Teacher's paychecks over a twelve month period.

Although the New York City Department of Education has sought to have Teacher terminated from his position, the arbitrator declined terminating the employee and imposed the $1,500 fine instead.

Teacher file an Article 75 petition in Supreme Court seeking a court order vacating and annulling the arbitration award. Supreme Court dismissed Teacher’s petition.

The Appellate Division, affirming the dismissal of Teacher’s petition by the Supreme Court, ruled that the penalty imposed was “not so excessive and disproportionate to the offense as to be shocking to one's sense of fairness.”

The court also noted that the arbitrator had explicitly found [1] the student’ testimony credible and [2] the Teacher’s testimony to be not credible and [3] that determinations of a hearing officer involving the credibility of a witness are "largely unreviewable.”

The decision is posted on the Internet at:
http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2013/2013_07811.htm

CAUTION

Subsequent court and administrative rulings, or changes to laws, rules and regulations may have modified or clarified or vacated or reversed the decisions summarized here. Accordingly, these summaries should be Shepardized® or otherwise checked to make certain that the most recent information is being considered by the reader.
THE MATERIAL ON THIS WEBSITE IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. AGAIN, CHANGES IN LAWS, RULES, REGULATIONS AND NEW COURT AND ADMINISTRATIVE DECISIONS MAY AFFECT THE ACCURACY OF THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS LAWBLOG. THE MATERIAL PRESENTED IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE AND THE USE OF ANY MATERIAL POSTED ON THIS WEBSITE, OR CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING SUCH MATERIAL, DOES NOT CREATE AN ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP.
NYPPL Blogger Harvey Randall served as Principal Attorney, New York State Department of Civil Service; Director of Personnel, SUNY Central Administration; Director of Research, Governor’s Office of Employee Relations; and Staff Judge Advocate General, New York Guard. Consistent with the Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations, the material posted to this blog is presented with the understanding that neither the publisher nor NYPPL and, or, its staff and contributors are providing legal advice to the reader and in the event legal or other expert assistance is needed, the reader is urged to seek such advice from a knowledgeable professional.
New York Public Personnel Law. Email: publications@nycap.rr.com