Plaintiff initiated an CPLR Article 78 preceding challenged the Nassau County Sheriff's Department [Department] decision terminating his employment during Plaintiff's probationary employment as a correction officer. Plaintiff had alleged, among other things, that he was terminated in bad faith after he complained about being assigned excessive overtime hours.
Supreme Court granted Plaintiff's petition, in effect annulled the Department's decision to terminate Plaintiff during his probationary period. The Department appealed the Supreme Court's ruling.
Citing Matter of Lane v City of New York, 92 AD3d 786, Appellate Division noted that the employment of a probationary employee may be terminated without a hearing and without a statement of reasons in the absence of a demonstration that the termination was in bad faith, for a constitutionally impermissible or an illegal purpose, or in violation of statutory or decisional law*. However, said the Appellate Division, "The petitioner bears the burden of presenting competent proof of the alleged bad faith, the violation of statutory or decisional law, or the constitutionally impermissible or illegal purpose", citing Matter of Capece v Schultz, 117 AD3d 1045 and Matter of Young v City of New York, 221 AD3d 721.
The Appellate Division held that the Plaintiff had "met his burden of demonstrating that the determination to terminate his probationary employment was made in bad faith" by establishing that his termination of probationary employment followed a complaint he made regarding being assigned excessive overtime hours and the purported failure of the Sheriff's to comply with Rule 20 of the Sheriff's Department Rules and Regulations, which requires equal distribution of overtime, noting that the Department "failed to establish, or even adequately allege, that the termination of the [Plaintiff's] probationary employment was made in good faith".
Accordingly, the Appellate Division opined that Supreme Court "properly granted the [Plaintiff's] petition and, in effect, annulled the [Department's] determination".
* In York v McGuire, 63 NY2d 760, the Court of Appeals set out the basic rule concerning the dismissal of probationary employees as follows: “After completing his or her minimum period of probation and prior to completing his or her maximum period of probation, a probationary employee can be dismissed without a hearing and without a statement of reasons, as long as there is no proof that the dismissal was done for a constitutionally impermissible purpose, or in violation of statutory or decisional law, or the decision was made in bad faith.”
Click HERE to access the Appellate Division's decision posted on the Internet.