Selected items posted on the Internet during the week ending December 5, 2025

New York State Workers' Compensation Board Webinar A Paid Family Leave webinar for employees is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, December 10, 2025 from 12:00 pm thru 1:00 pm. Register here

ROI You Can Prove: Making the Case for Modern Identity Systems  Modern identity systems are critical to secure, digital-first government—but funding them takes a clear business case. This guide walks through a realistic five-year cost-benefit analysis for digital identity systems in the public sector, showing how agencies can forecast ROI, reduce fraud, and accelerate digital transformation.  DOWNLOAD 

Firewalls Aren't Enough: Securing Government for the AI Era AI is changing how governments operate — and how cyber threats emerge. Traditional firewalls alone can’t keep up with modern attack surfaces, especially in decentralized, cloud-driven environments. This paper explores why a platform-based security approach is now essential, highlighting strategies like autonomous segmentation, AI model protection and centralized threat detection. DOWNLOAD

From the Trenches: Why Every Government City Manager Needs Better Meeting Documentation Poor documentation erodes trust and slows government action; modern tools help preserve institutional memory. READ NOW 

Navigating H.R. 1: A Checklist for the New SNAP Compliance Landscape  H.R. 1 raises the stakes for state SNAP programs. With rising administrative costs and penalties tied to payment errors, this checklist helps agencies pinpoint where automation and data strategies can reduce risk, support new rules, and control costs. DOWNLOAD

From Vision to Reality: Making AI Work for Smarter Cities and States In this interactive webinar, Government Technology is convening AI industry experts for a candid conversation about what it really takes to adopt and scale AI responsibly. REGISTER

From Vision to Reality: Making AI Work for Smarter Cities and States In this interactive webinar, Government Technology is convening AI industry experts for a candid conversation about what it really takes to adopt and scale AI responsibly. REGISTER 

Procuring a Modern Payment Platform Payments are a critical but often underprioritized factor in user experience. As governments work to become more responsive and resident-centric, payment strategies should emphasize enterprise platform approaches and innovative capabilities like digital wallets and recurring payment options. This paper offers practical advice for procuring modern payment solutions that support a superior user experience. DOWNLOAD 

Future Forward Government A space created for state and local IT leaders and decision-makers who are charting the course of tomorrow's public sector. EXPLORE 

Navigating H.R. 1: A Medicaid Checklist for Government Agencies New Medicaid work and reporting requirements are fast approaching. This checklist helps state agencies assess how prepared they are to verify employment, education, and life changes without creating administrative gridlock. DOWNLOAD 

AI in Construction: What’s Changing and Why It  Matters  Smarter tools are accelerating safer, more predictable jobsites and transforming construction’s future. Learn More

A New Docufilm Explores How Teamwork is Key to Restoring Critical Connections After Natural Disasters In the wake of disaster, America's cable industry knows reconnecting communities depends on planning, trust, experience, and working together when every minute counts. Watch Now

Modernize Government Payouts for Better Service Discover how agencies can deliver fast, secure and equitable payments.  READ MORE

Realizing AI's Potential in Billing and Payments Download this guide to learn how leading organizations are transforming outdated billing operations into streamlined, scalable systems that reduce overhead and improve customer service. DOWNLOAD

Applying the Doctrine of Legislative Equivalency,

The doctrine of legislative equivalency requires that "[t]o repeal or modify a statute requires a legislative act of equal dignity and import". 

In the instant two "companion" actions the Appellate Division affirmed Supreme Court CPLR Article 78 decisions granting the two employee applications seeking to compel the City of Schenectady to pay the two respective CPLR Article 78 Petitioners the cash value of their respective unused sick leave accruals to which they contended they were entitled upon their discontinuing their employment with the City of Schenectady. 

The Appellate Division noted that in 1986 the City of Schenectady adopted had §87-13 of the Code of the City of Schenectady providing that nonunion employees "shall be entitled to convert 75% of [their] unused sick leave [credits] up to a maximum accumulation of 240 days to cash, upon termination of [their] services as an employee with the City." 

The Appellate Division also indicated that "Subsequently, Local Law No. 2011-05 amended Chapter 13 of the City Charter to grant the City Council the authority to fix and determine salaries, compensation and benefits of all City employees and Officers" and "Separate from this authority to establish salaries in the annual budget process, the local law provides that [a]ll other compensation and benefits shall likewise be determined by the City Council pursuant to . . . General Municipal Law §92 and codified in Chapter 87 of the Code of the City of Schenectady  (emphasis supplied by the Appellate Division)"

Holding the Doctrine of Legislative Equivalency "applies to attempts to amend a [city] code or ordinance by use of a resolution", the Appellate Division ruled that the employees named in the two appeals filed by the City of Schenectady challenging the Supreme Court's Article 78 rulings were entitled to receive appropriate payments for their unused sick leave accruals upon their discontinuing their employment with the City of Schenectady as the Schenectady City Council's attempt to supersede Chapter 87 of the City Code with a resolution "is inconsistent with the doctrine of legislative equivalency".

Click HERE to access the "lead decision" appeal before the Appellate Division, Matter of Koldin, posted on the Internet.

Click HERE to access the "companion decision" appeal before the Appellate Division, Matter of Marney, posted on the Internet.

New York State Employees Retirement System's Online Tools and Tips

Posted on the Internet by NYSERS on December 04, 2025 

Retirement Online is the fastest and most convenient way to access your retirement account information and conduct business with NYSLRS. In many cases, you can use Retirement Online instead of sending forms through the mail or calling. For example, members can estimate their pension or apply for retirement, and retirees can get their 1099-R tax form or update their federal tax withholding.

Recent disciplinary decisions by New York City Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings Administrative Law Judges

Administrative Law Judge [ALJ] Kevin F. Casey recommended a 30-day suspension after finding that a New York City correction officer submitted a false, misleading, inaccurate, or incomplete report regarding a colleague’s use of force. 

Judge Casey, however, did not sustain a companion charge that the officer failed to intervene when the same person allegedly engaged in self-harm. 

In recommending a 30-day suspension, the ALJ noted that the evidence did not support a departure from the employer's Disciplinary Guidelines. 

Click HERE to access the text of Judge Casey's decision setting out his findings  and recommended penalty.

ALJ Orlando Rodriguez recommended termination of employment of a New York City Eligibility Specialist after the employer proved the employee failed to report to her work location for approximately four months, was absent without authorization, ignored supervisory directives, and acted aggressively and discourteously. 

Judge Rodriguez noted that although the employer only proved some of the charges, the employee’s prolonged unauthorized absence alone provided sufficient grounds to terminate her employment. 

Click HERE to access the text of Judge Rodriguez's decision setting our his findings and recommended penalty.

Judge Astrid B. Gloade recommended a 20-day suspension of a supervisor after finding that the supervisor failed to perform her duties efficiently and failed to properly supervise her subordinates. 

The ALJ had determined that the employer had proved that the supervisor sent a letter containing confidential information about an applicant to an incorrect childcare program, that the supervisor provided incorrect guidance to a subordinate and that the supervisor had failed to meet deadlines with respect to performing certain of her responsibilities. 

Judge Gloade, however, had concluded that the employer's requested penalty that the supervisor be terminated from her position was excessive given the proven charges and, in consideration of the supervisor's long service and heretofore unblemished record, recommended that the appointing authority impose a penalty of a 20-day suspension*.

 

Click HERE to access the text of Judge Gloade's decision setting out her findings and recommended penalty.

* A Reasonable Disciplinary Penalty Under the Circumstances - NYPPL's 442-page e-book focusing 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. Click on http://booklocker.com/books/7401.html for more information.

Disciplinary decision and the penalty imposed remanded for review with instructions to consider only timely charges and specifications

In this appeal of an administrative disciplinary action which found an employee of the New York State Unified Court System [UCS] guilty of the charges filed against him, the Appellate Division notes that where the issue is whether an agency complied with its own internal procedures, the appropriate standard of review is whether the determination was "made in violation of lawful procedure".

Further, opined the court, it is a "fundamental administrative law principle that an agency's rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to statutory authority are binding upon it as well as the individuals affected by the rule or regulation".

The employee [Petitioner] had been served with a notice of charges and specifications alleging that he had engaged in three specified acts of misconduct when he used biased and discriminatory language in three Facebook comments he had posted on the Internet. One such comment, however, was subsequently determined to have been "untimely" at the time it was charged and served.

The Appellate Division's decision notes that where the issue is whether an agency complied with its own internal procedures, the appropriate standard of review is whether the determination was "made in violation of lawful procedure" as it is a "fundamental administrative law principle that an agency's rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to statutory authority are binding upon it as well as the individuals affected by the rule or regulation".

The revised Hearing Officer's findings and recommendation had not distinguished between the sanction initially recommended by the hearing officer in consideration of finding the employee guilty all three alleged charges of misconduct and an appropriate reasonable sanction recommended by the hearing officer to be imposed based on the employee in consideration of the hearing officer's finding the individual guilty of the surviving two timely alleged acts of misconduct. 

The Appellate Division then remitted the matter to UCS for a new determination and recommendation of a penalty to be made by a hearing officer based solely on the two timely specified acts of misconduct, noting that "DILLON, J.P., LOVE and GOLIA, JJ., concur" while DOWLING, JJ., "voted to confirm the revised determination, deny the petition, and dismiss the proceeding on the merits, with a memorandum."

Click HERE to access the Appellate Division's ruling posted on the Internet.