Use of excessive force - OATH Administrative Law Judge Julia H. Lee recommended termination of employment for a correction officer who used excessive force when he struck a restrained inmate in the face and submitted a false and misleading use of force report. While the inmate had thrown food at the officer through an open slot of his cell and later alluded to there being feces in the food, Judge Lee found that neither the inmate’s verbal abuse and threatening language nor the food-throwing justified the officer’s strike to his face. ALJ Lee also found that the officer’s statement in his use of force report that the inmate was trying escape from escort officers was inaccurate as video evidence demonstrated that the inmate was physically compliant throughout the extraction and escort. Click HERE to access Judge Lee's decision.
Excessive absenteeism - OATH Administrative Law Judge Kara J. Miller recommended termination of employment for a non-competitive class employee charged with excessive absenteeism under section 75 of the Civil Service Law, finding that the employee was continuously absent for more than 295 days following a workplace injury when a bathroom stall door fell on her. In her report and recommendation, Judge Miller rejected the employee’s argument that the proceeding should be converted to a Civil Service Law section 71 proceeding involving a determination of permanent incapacitation due to disability ALJ Miller found that the Court of Appeals has acknowledged that the applicability of section 71 to non-competitive class employees remains an open question for the state legislature to resolve and that even if section 71 were applicable to non-competitive class employees, it does not provide for a hearing prior to termination. Click HERE to access Judge Miller's decision.
Off-duty misconduct - OATH Administrative Law Judge Michael D. Turilli recommended dismissing an off-duty misconduct charge against a correction officer who was arrested for assaulting his wife. The criminal charges against the correction officer had been dismissed prior to the trial before OATH and the officer’s wife declined to testify. ALJ Turilli found that the testimony of the arresting police officer, who recounted hearsay statements made by the wife at the scene over three years ago, was not sufficiently reliable to sustain the charge. Click HERE to access Judge Turilli's decision.
Leaving work early - OATH Administrative Law Judge Kevin F. Casey recommended a 45-day suspension for a hospital service aide for leaving work early and moving supplies, including personal protective equipment, from a nurses’ station to a closet during the COVID-19 pandemic without documenting his actions. ALJ Casey found that the hospital had failed to prove that the service aide stole hospital property, stored alcohol on the hospital premises, refused to surrender his keys, violated the Conflicts of Interest Law, or intimidated co-workers into signing a petition. Click HERE to access Judge Casey's decision.
Submitted misleading report - OATH Administrative Law Judge Joycelyn McGeachy-Kuls found that a correction officer’s use of force during an escort of an inmate was appropriate but that the officer had submitted a false or misleading report about the incident. The Department of Correction had charged the officer with using excessive force against an inmate while he was being removed from a cell. Judge McGeachy-Kuls found that the officer’s force was not excessive because the inmate was not compliant. However, ALJ McGeachy-Kuls found that the officer submitted a false or misleading report about the incident and recommended a 30-day suspension. Click HERE to access Judge McGeachy-Kuls' decision.
False "use of force" report - OATH Administrative Law Judge Christine Stecura recommended that a correction officer be suspended for 60 days for using excessive force and submitting a false and misleading use of force report about an incident in which he struck an inmate in the face. ALJ Stecura rejected the officer’s argument that force was appropriate because the inmate had a cane and had made a threatening gesture. Click HERE to access Judge Stecura's decision.
Sleeping while on duty - OATH Administrative Law Judge Julia Davis recommended that a Special Officer in the Department of Citywide Administrative Services be suspended for 20 days for making false statements and sleeping while on duty, both of which the Special Officer admitted during trial. ALJ Davis found that DCAS had failed to prove that the Special Officer slapped a commuter on her buttocks because the complainant’s identification of the Special Officer as the perpetrator was not sufficiently reliable. Click HERE to access Judge Davis' decision.
A Reasonable Disciplinary Penalty Under the Circumstances - The text of this publication focuses on determining an appropriate disciplinary penalty to be imposed on an employee in the public service in instances where the employee has been found guilty of misconduct or incompetence. For more information click HERE or click to Read a FREE excerpt (requires Adobe Reader).