Threatening workplace violence
2015 NY Slip Op 01754, Appellate Division, First Department
An employee [Employee] was found guilty of disciplinary charges alleging that he threatened his supervisor with violence. In the administrative disciplinary action the employee’s supervisor had testified that Employee had threatened him as Employee stood near him, holding wood or another object in his hand, and raised the object while getting angrier in his statements to the supervisor.
The disciplinary penalty imposed: suspension without pay for 31 work days,
Employee’s challenge to the administrative disciplinary determination and the penalty imposed, but the Appellate Division sustained both the finding of guilt and the penalty imposed on Employee..
The court explained that the administrative determination that Employee had engaged in an incident of workplace violence was supported by substantial evidence and that was no basis to disturb the credibility determinations of the hearing officer.
As to the penalty imposed, suspension without pay for 31 work days, the Appellate Division said that based on the employer’s “strong concern with promoting a nonviolent workplace, the suspension imposed does not shock our sense of fairness,” citing Kelly v Safir, 96 NY2d 32.
The decision is posted on the Internet at:
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