Judicial review of arbitration awards is extremely limited

An employee [Plaintiff] serving with a New York State agency [Employer] was served with a notice of discipline seeking to terminate Plaintiff's employment with the Employer based on 11 charges of misconduct and insubordination. Plaintiff, represented by his Union, filed a grievance. Ultimately the matter was submitted to arbitration.

 The Arbitrator determined that the Employer followed the procedures mandated by the relevant collective bargaining agreement with respect to the issuance of a notice of discipline, rejected Plaintiff's challenge to the Employer's service of the notice of discipline as untimely, determined that termination of Plaintiff's employment was the appropriate disciplinary penalty under the circumstances, and denied Plaintiff's grievance. 

Plaintiff then commenced the instant proceeding pursuant to CPLR Article 75 seeking a court order vacating the arbitration award. Supreme Court, among other things, denied the Plaintiff's petition and dismissed the proceeding. Plaintiff appealed.

The Appellate Division, noting that "Judicial review of arbitration awards is extremely limited", observed that "It is well settled that a court may vacate an arbitration award only if it violates a strong public policy, is irrational, or clearly exceeds a specifically enumerated limitation on the arbitrator's power", citing a number New York State court decisions including Matter of Falzone [New York Cent. Mut. Fire Ins. Co.], 15 NY3d 530, and Matter of New York City Tr. Auth. v Transport Workers' Union of Am., Local 100, ALF-CIO, 6 NY3d 332.

In addition, the Appellate Division said "contrary to the [Plaintiff's] contention, he failed to demonstrate that the arbitration award violated a strong public policy, was irrational, or clearly exceeded a specifically enumerated limitation of the arbitrator's power and failed to present evidentiary proof of actual bias or the appearance of bias on the part of the arbitrator, and said "the award discloses no bias".

Addressing the penalty imposed on Plaintiff, termination, the Applellate Division, citing Matter of Bolt v New York City Dept. of Educ., 30 NY3d 1065, opined that "the penalty of termination was not so disproportionate to the offenses charged as to be shocking to one's sense of fairness."

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

Determining if the employer is vicariously liable for torts committed by its employees

In a claim to recover damages for personal injuries, Petitioner appealed an order of the Court of Claims which granted the State of New York's [Defendant] motion for summary judgment dismissing the Petitioner's claim.

Petitioner commenced this action in New York State's Court of Claims seeking to recover damages for personal injuries he alleged he had suffered when "he was assaulted by a correction officer". State moved for summary judgment dismissing the claim, contending that it could not be held liable for the assault under the doctrine of respondeat superior. 

The Court of Claims granted the State's motion and Petitioner appealed the Court of Claims' ruling.

The Appellate Division, citing Rivera v State of New York, 34 NY3d 383, observed that "Under the common-law doctrine of respondeat superior, an employer — including the State — may be held vicariously liable for torts, including intentional torts, committed by employees acting within the scope of their employment", provided that the tortious conduct is 'generally foreseeable and a natural incident of the employment'".

In determining if an employee was acting within the scope of his or her employment for purposes of determining vicarious liability of an employer courts consider:

1. The connection between the time, place and occasion for the act; 

2. The history of the relationship between employer and employee as spelled out in actual practice; 

3. Whether the act is one commonly done by such an employee; 

4. The extent of departure from normal methods of performance; and 

5. Whether the specific act was one that the employer could reasonably have anticipated.

Further, in cases involving a use of force, whether an employee is acting within the scope of  his or her employment requires consideration of whether the employee was authorized to use force to effectuate the goals and duties of his or her employment. 

In the instant action, the Court of Claims granted the State's motion to dismiss Plaintiff's claim, finding that the State could not be held liable for the assault under the doctrine of respondeat superior. Petitioner appealed. 

The Appellate Division affirmed the Court of Claims' ruling, observing that "the [State] established, prima facie, that the correction officer was not acting within the scope of his employment when he assaulted the [Petitioner]" and Petitioner failed to raise a triable issue of fact.

In the words of the Appellate Division, "the Court of Claims properly granted that branch of the [State's] motion which was for summary judgment dismissing the [Plaintiff's] claim".

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

Selected items posted on the Internet during the week ending August 21, 2026 and reported by NYPPL pro bono which may be of interest to readers

New York Health Policy Monitor Published by I.H. Michaels, LLC, an independent health policy and data analytics practice is informational and does not constitute legal or policy advice. For questions, pricing for organizations, or data services inquiries, contact: info@ihmichaelsllc.com

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