Selected links to items focusing on government operations posted on the Internet during the week ending February 16, 2024

A Failed Solution to Our Soaring Homelessness Problem “Housing-first” programs are expensive and ineffective. “Treatment-first” approaches are more successful at improving the well-being of homeless people by reducing drug use and increasing employment stability. READ MORE

 

AI Gun Detection System Leads to Charges in New Mexico ZeroEyes, the creators of an AI-based gun detection video analytics platform, recently announced a positive detection of an illegally brandished firearm in Hobbs, N.M., that has resulted in criminal charges. READ MORE

 

Alabama Governor Creates Task Force for Responsible AI Adoption Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey is aligning with national trends on AI regulation, establishing a task force via executive order to examine the current and future applications of the technology in state government. READ MORE

 

ALEC and Other Conservative Groups Push School Choice A conservative coalition is hoping to make private school choice universally available in half the states by the end of this year. READ MORE

 

An article in the January/February 2024 issue of Discover Magazine, The Year of the AI Conversation by Stephen Ornes, reports 97% of business owners surveyed believe AI will help their business, 77% of workers surveyed believe AI will cause job loss in 2024 and the number of CHATGFT users reported [as of August 2023] was "180.5 million." READ MORE

 

Automating Permit Applications Agencies and businesses desire quicker permit approvals. Automation via low-code tools and open source software streamlines processes effectively.READ MORE

 

Boosting Gov Adoption: Can a New, Quicker Process Help? According to a Government Technology analysis of CISA data, only 42 percent of counties have registered .gov domains. Now that the federal government is making it easier than ever to get a .gov domain, will more agencies make the change? READ MORE

 

California Bill Proposes Strict Safety Checks for AI Companies The legislation would set mandatory AI safety testing requirements before training or market release and would mandate an internal fail-safe be included in all AI systems to trigger an immediate shutdown if issues are detected. READ MORE

 

California’s Recent Flooding Highlights ‘Disaster Insurance Gap’ Of the eight Southern California counties that were under a state of emergency during the most recent storm, only 52,820 homes and businesses were covered by flood policies. READ MORE

 

Chicago Will End Contract With Police Tool ShotSpotter The city will sever its ties with the gunshot alert system after September. Mayor Brandon Johnson’s political supporters applauded the decision, but many officers are opposed. READ MORE

 

Cross-Agency Planning Key to Cybersecurity in San Francisco
CISO Michael Makstman explains what it takes to secure San Francisco, how the city is approaching generative AI and the importance of sharing information in the Coalition of City CISOs. READ MORE

 

Despite $25B in Funding, California Cops Only Solve 13% of Crimes The statewide clearance rate for crimes was just 13.2 percent in 2022, according to a new report. The rate for poverty crimes was only 7.2 percent. READ MORE

 

Digital Solutions for Affordable Housing Challenges How technology is bringing Government the efficiency needed to implement innovative affordable housing approaches. DOWNLOAD PDF

 

Digital-ready, Frictionless Revenue and Payment Solutions for State and Local Governments CORE + PayPal® is the modern connection platform designed to modernize the payments and engagement automation for state and local governments. LEARN MORE

 

Federal Money Could Supercharge State Efforts to Preserve Nuclear Power A plant in Michigan might become the first to reopen after closing. READ MORE

 

How 5G Can Help Improve Situational Awareness for First Responders 5G can support the streaming of large volumes of high-quality video, offering the potential for greatly improved situational awareness. Public safety can benefit from the high speeds and low latency that 5G can offer and that are based on technologies like augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), drone data, real-time situational intelligence and more. LEARN MORE

 

How New Public Transportation Technology is Prioritizing Passenger Safety As technology has advanced, innovative and affordable solutions give public safety agencies the flexibility to update their current software and security measures to state-of-the-art programming and equipment. Learn how technology can help provide passenger safety and security in public transport. SEE HOW

 

How the Election Misinformation Landscape Is Shifting Brookings Institution panelists considered how the proliferation of generative AI tools, weakening of social media platform trust and safety teams, and drawdown in federal communications with social media firms will impact the the 2024 elections. READ MORE

 

Infill Housing Has Its Benefits but Won't Always Drive Down Costs Charleston exemplifies an infill strategy that produces attractive new houses and greater density, but comes up short on affordability. READ MORE

 

Information-Sharing Platform Civic Roundtable Raises $5M The startup brings public officials together to share expertise and advice about cybersecurity, elections management and other issues that can challenge government agencies. Veterans of Mark43 help run the company. READ MORE

 

Local Government and the Need for Speed Project delays and slow bureaucratic processes are costly for constituents, businesses and governments themselves. What’s needed is a culture of urgency. READ MORE

 

Massachusetts Accessibility Officer Shares Holistic Approach Ashley Bloom, the state's first chief IT accessibility officer, shared that she is approaching the role with the mindset that accessibility should be integrated into all of the state's IT work. READ MORE

 

Michigan School District Integrates Safety With Audio Tool A system designed to amplify classroom audio can now be equipped with safety buttons that provide teachers with a one-touch ability to notify office personnel if something is amiss. READ MORE

 

Michigan to Become 21st State to Enact Red Flag Laws The state’s red flag complaint law went into effect on Tuesday. It will allow residents to seek temporary removal of firearms from at-risk individuals by obtaining an extreme risk protection order. READ MORE

 

Minnesota Citizens Will Soon Decide Which Inmates Get Parole Starting in July, a new citizen panel will review requests from inmates serving mandatory minimum life sentences, mostly for first-degree murder. Previously, the review process has been done by the corrections commissioner. READ MORE

 

National AI Safety Institute Consortium Takes Shape In accordance with President Joe Biden’s 2023 executive order on artificial intelligence, the federal government is moving forward with key actions — namely, the creation of an AI safety consortium. READ MORE

 

Nebraska Supreme Court Reviews $44K Fee for Public Records A reporter requested a keyword search of emails as part of an investigation into nitrates in the state’s drinking water from the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy. What she got was a $44,103 bill for the state to begin the search. READ MORE

 

Observability for Hybrid IT Environments State and local governments use many digital tools to accomplish their goals, but the complex mix of different solutions can make it hard to spot inefficiencies, fix problems or even know if applications are working properly DOWNLOAD PDF

 

OpenGov Results Show Growing Strength of Cloud Migrations The 12-year-old company reports big recent sales gains — a reflection of larger trends in the gov tech world. A company executive also expresses skepticism about the role of private equity in the industry. READ MORE

 

Opinion: Regulating AI Requires First Knowing Its Boundaries As new learning methods are developed, the boundary between what is artificial intelligence and what is simply traditional computing methods keeps shifting. READ MORE

 

Permits and Grant Applications, Built with Ease Build permit and approval applications via Low Code Tools, which can create custom workflows quickly, speeding up application development and delivery. LEARN MORE

 

Power Outages Leave Poor Communities in the Dark Longer Data from over 15 million consumers in 588 counties across the nation reveal that poorer communities waited an average of 170 minutes more for power to be restored, though sometimes it took much longer. READ MORE

 

Problems With Idaho’s New $100M Financial System Demonstrate Just How Hard Modernization Is The new project aimed to modernize accounting, hiring and employee review, but for many, the overhaul has just added unnecessary frustration. The last time Idaho overhauled its processes to this extent was in the 1980s. READ MORE]

 

Robocalls Featuring AI-Generated Voices Deemed Illegal Robocalls using artificial intelligence to fake human voices are illegal, federal authorities have ruled, two days after New Hampshire launched a criminal probe into calls spoofing the voice of President Biden. READ MORE

 

Secure Access Service Edge Architecture (SASE) Explained SASE has emerged in recent years as a definitive aspect of modern network architecture and security. Learn about this in the latest explainer brief. DOWNLOAD NOW

 

Special: Securing America's Digital Infrastructure GOVTECH CYBERSECURITY has rounded up industry best practices on topics such as security, threats, and privacy. See how companies are helping state and local agencies tackle and prepare for all things cybersecurity. Read more here NEWS, CONVERSATIONS AND RESOURCES

 

The Biggest Social Issues to Watch in 2024 Legislatures across the nation are confronting several social issues including crime, drug use, immigration and poverty. These issues will continue to hold resonance, of course, in the November elections. READ MORE

 

The Rise of the Equity Analyst: Transforming DEI With Data The creation of a new position in Indianapolis highlights an emerging trend of recruiting employees with technical data skills to focus on DEI initiatives. But can agencies successfully fill the roles and develop robust programs? READ MORE

 

The Tedious Parts of City Planning Could Be Turned Over to AI A New Hampshire city joins a growing list of local governments that are turning over some of the more time-intensive tasks of planning operations to artificial intelligence technologies. READ MORE

 

Trends in State and Local Government IT for 2024: Download using the following link: Emerging Trends in State and Local Government IT for 2024. Government Technology also has hundreds of available downloads in its resource library.

 

Washington Program Combats Adult Depression With Peer Counselors Senior citizens have high rates of depression and other mental health challenges. To improve access and address fears, a university program trains other older adults to offer sessions. READ MORE

 

Washington, D.C., Mayor Shares AI Implementation Plans An order signed by Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser today takes three specific actions to advance the government’s adoption of artificial intelligence. The plan aims to align the technology with the District’s core values. READ MORE

 

Washington’s $15 Tolls Hope to Reduce Traffic, Increase Revenue The state will increase its toll rates on March 1, with the highest toll rate being $15 on I-405 and Highway 167. Dynamic pricing will change the toll rate to a minimum of $1 as often as every five minutes. READ MORE

 

Claims for workers' compensation benefits based on COVIS-19 must be supported by substantial evidence of a nexus to the claimant's employment

Recent court decisions* make clear "the contraction of COVID-19 in the workplace may qualify as an unusual hazard, not the natural and unavoidable result of employment and, thus, is compensable under the Workers' Compensation Law". 

In the instant matter, however, the Workers' Compensation Board [Board] ruled that Claimant's spouse's [Decedent] COVID-19 related death was not causally-related to his employment and denied Claimant's application for workers' compensation death benefits.

Claimant's spouse had filed a claim for workers' compensation benefits, alleging he had suffered a COVID-19 work-related injury or disease. Claimant subsequently filed a claim for death benefits upon the passing of the Decedent. Following a hearing and the consideration of depositions of certain medical providers, a Workers' Compensation Law Judge found, among other things, that Decedent had sustained a COVID-19 work-related injury. The Board, however, ultimately denied the claim. Claimant appealed the Board's determination.

The Appellate Division explained:

1. Whether a compensable accident has occurred is a question of fact for the Board to resolve, and its determination in this regard, if supported by substantial evidence in the record as a whole, will not be disturbed;

2. A claimant "bears the burden of establishing that the subject injury arose out of and in the course of his or her employment";

3. A claimant may meet his or her burden to show that an injury arose in the course of employment by demonstrating either a specific exposure to COVID-19 or prevalence of COVID-19 in the work environment so as to present an elevated risk of exposure constituting an extraordinary event; for example, workers with significant contact with the public in communities with high rates of infection or workers in a workplace experiencing high rates of infection"; and

4. "Although Workers' Compensation Law §21(1) provides a presumption that an accident that occurs in the course of employment also arises out of that employment, the statutory presumption cannot be used to establish that an accident occurred in the first instance, and it does not wholly relieve a claimant of the burden of demonstrating that the accident occurred in the course of, and arose out of, his or her employment."

Here Claimant testified that a number of Decedent's coworkers tested positive for COVID-19 at some undetermined point, but she was unable to provide any names, dates or other details from which it reasonably could be inferred that Decedent contracted COVID-19 from one or more coworkers.

Although Claimant also testified that Decedent provided his own masks, gloves and hand sanitizer, the Appellate Division opined "the record is devoid of any evidence that Decedent's job as a subway track inspector required him to work in a contained environment that, in turn, brought him into regular contact with the public at large".

Under the circumstances, the Appellate Division held that "substantial evidence supports the Board's finding that Claimant failed to meet her burden of demonstrating that Decedent contracted COVID-19 in the course of his employment" and affirmed the Board's decision.

* See Matter of Pierre v ABF Frgt., 211 AD3d 1284; accord Matter of Leroy v Brookdale Hosp. Med. Ctr., 222 AD3d 1160; Matter of Aungst v Family Dollar, 221 AD3d 1222; and Matter of Holder v Office for People with Dev. Disabilities, 215 AD3d 1201.

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

 

Son who stole $194,000 in NYS pension and social security payments by impersonating his deceased father sentenced to five years in prison

On February 14, 2024, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Jacqueline C. Romero, the Inspector General for the Social Security Administration Gail S. Ennis, the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced that the son of a deceased retiree of the New York State Employees' Retirement Plan who stole $194,000 of New York State retirement benefits paid to his deceased father was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay full restitution.

Comptroller DiNapoli said “Timothy Gritman shamelessly hid his own father’s death, going so far as to attempt to disguise himself as him in order to collect his pension and Social Security payments for more than four years” and “Thanks to the work of my investigative team and our partners in law enforcement, he has been held accountable. My office will continue to bring anyone who seeks to defraud the pension system to justice.”

“Timothy Gritman chose dollars and cents over a dignified death for his dad,” said U.S. Attorney Romero and “He had been living off of his father Ralph’s retirement benefits for years, even before his father’s passing — and after it, went to significant lengths to keep that money coming in. With today’s sentence, he’s finally being made to answer for his criminal greed.”

“Timothy Gritman schemed to obtain the Social Security retirement benefits intended for his deceased father. His behavior is unacceptable, and this sentence holds him accountable for his criminal actions,” said Social Security Inspector General Ennis. “I thank our law enforcement partners and the New York State Comptroller’s Office for their efforts in investigating, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Curran for prosecuting this case.”

New York state pensioner Ralph Gritman retired from the Nassau County Clerk’s Office in 1992 and moved to Wyoming from Pennsylvania with his son, Timothy Gritman, in August 2017. In September 2017, Medicare records showed he went to a hospital emergency room in Wyoming. This was the last existing record of the father.

The father and son shared a joint bank account where Ralph’s retirement benefits were electronically deposited. Both Ralph Gritman’s pension and Social Security benefits were to cease upon his death, but Timothy Gritman concealed his father’s death in order to continue to receive his retirement benefits. In his attempts to impersonate his deceased father, he used makeup to whiten his hair and eyebrows.

In 2019, Timothy Gritman told a family member that his father had died several years earlier but would not say where he was buried or what had happened to his body. Ralph Gritman’s body still has not been located.

A call to DiNapoli’s Fraud Hotline led to a joint investigation and the suspension of Ralph Gritman’s pension payments and the investigation that led to his son’s arrest.

Gritman was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Cynthia M. Rufe in Philadelphia.

###

Since taking office in 2007, DiNapoli has committed to fighting public corruption and encourages the public to help fight fraud and abuse. Allegations of fraud involving taxpayer money may be reported by calling the Retirement Systems toll-free Fraud Hotline at 1-888-672-4555, or by mailing a complaint to the Office of the State Comptroller, Division of Investigations, 8th Floor, 110 State St., Albany, NY 12236, or filing online at https://www.osc.state.ny.us/investigations.

 

Applying the doctrine of forum non conveniens

New York State has codified the doctrine of forum non conveniens as CPLR 327.*

In Employees Retirement System for the City of Providence v Rohner, in which Credit Suisse Group AG, was named as a "Nominal Defendant", the Appellate Division opined  "There is no credible argument that a substantial nexus between this action and New York is lacking". Noting the parties agree that this case involves the application of Swiss substantive law, the Appellate Division said "New York courts routinely find that there is no inordinate burden involved in applying the substantive laws of foreign jurisdictions, including Swiss law".

Citing Di Lella v. Lehigh Val. R. Co., D.C.N.Y., 7 F.R.D. 192, 193, the Appellate Division indicated that "In determining whether doctrine should be applied, courts typically "consider relative ease of access to sources of proof, availability of compulsory process for attendance of unwilling witnesses, cost of obtaining attendance of willing witnesses, possibility of view of premises, and all other practical problems that make trial easy, expeditious and inexpensive". 

* See https://codes.findlaw.com/ny/civil-practice-law-and-rules/cvpny-cplr-rule-327/

The Appellate Division's decision in this appeal of a ruling by a New York State Supreme Court is set out below:

 

Employees Retirement Sys. for the City of Providence v Rohner

2024 NY Slip Op 00674

Decided on February 08, 2024

Appellate Division, First Department

Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.

This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the Official Reports.

Decided and Entered: February 08, 2024
Before: Manzanet-Daniels, J.P., Kern, Friedman, O'Neill Levy, Michael, JJ.

Index No. 651657/22 Appeal No. 1610 Case No. 2023-01215

Employees Retirement System for the City of Providence, etc., Plaintiff-Respondent,
v
Urs Rohner et al., Defendants, Eric Varvel et al., Defendants-Appellants, Credit Suisse Group AG, Nominal Defendant.

Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP, New York (Jason M. Hall of counsel), for appellants.

Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP, New York (Jeroen van Kwawegen of counsel), for respondent.

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Andrea Masley, J.), entered January 31, 2023, which denied the motion of defendants Eric Varvel, Brian Chin, and Radhka Venkatraman to dismiss the complaint pursuant to CPLR 327 and 3211(a)(7), unanimously affirmed, with costs.

The doctrine of forum non conveniens, codified in CPLR 327, permits a court to stay or dismiss an action where it finds "that in the interest of substantial justice the action should be heard in another forum." CPLR 327 requires that "balancing of many factors," and the decision to retain jurisdiction over a dispute is within the motion court's discretion (Al Rushaid v Pictet & Cie, 28 NY3d 316, 332 [2016]; see Islamic Republic of Iran v Pahlavi, 62 NY2d 474, 479 [1984], cert denied 469 US 1108 [1985]). Here, defendants have not met their "heavy burden" of establishing that the complaint should have been dismissed on forum non conveniens grounds (see Elmaliach v Bank of China Ltd., 110 AD3d 192, 208 [1st Dept 2013]).

There is no credible argument that a substantial nexus between this action and New York is lacking (Islamic Republic of Iran, 62 NY2d at 478-479). Virtually every aspect of the subject matter underlying this action occurred in New York, and this Court has found a substantial nexus to exist in New York under less compelling circumstances (see e.g. Elmaliach, 110 AD3d at 208-209).

The court also properly found that New York, as a preeminent commercial center, has a significant interest in adjudicating this dispute. While Switzerland also has an interest in adjudicating this action and regulating its banks, this is only "one factor to be weighed," and does not compel dismissal (id. at 209 [internal quotation marks omitted]). Nor is there any parallel litigation pending in Switzerland that might weigh in favor of adjudicating the dispute there.

Defendants also failed to meet their heavy burden of establishing that the Commercial Division is unduly burdened or incapable of handling this case. While the parties agree that this case involves the application of Swiss substantive law, this is not dispositive. New York courts routinely find that there is no inordinate burden involved in applying the substantive laws of foreign jurisdictions, including Swiss law (see e.g. Wormwood Capital LLC v Mulleady, 203 AD3d 500 [1st Dept 2022]).

The court properly determined that the heightened pleading standard of CPLR 3016(b) does not apply to plaintiff's negligence-based breach of fiduciary duty claims under Swiss law.

THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.

ENTERED: February 8, 2024

State Department and Agency Audits released by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli

On February 12, 2024, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced the following audit reports of State Departments and Agencies were issued.

Click on the text highlighted in color to access both the summary and the complete audit report

New York State Dental Insurance Program – EmblemHealth Plan, Inc. – Overpayments for Services Requiring Coordination of Benefits (2022-S-27)
The Department of Civil Service contracts with EmblemHealth Plan, Inc. (Emblem) to process and pay claims for services on behalf of the New York State Dental Insurance Program. To prevent duplicate payment of services, health insurance companies use a process called coordination of benefits for paying health care claims when an individual is covered by more than one insurance plan. Auditors identified $492,061 in overpayments for services processed with coordination of benefits for the audit period, January 2018 through October 2022, because Emblem failed to correctly coordinate benefits with each member’s other subscriber plan.

 

Department of Health – Medicaid Program – Recovering Managed Care Overpayments for Pharmacy Services on Behalf of Recipients With Third-Party Health Insurance (Follow-Up) (2023-F-27)
Many of the State’s Medicaid recipients receive their services through managed care and also have other third-party health insurance. Managed care organizations (MCOs) are required to coordinate benefits with recipients’ third-party health insurance prior to paying for Medicaid services. The Office of the Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG) contracts with Health Management Systems, Inc. (HMS) to identify and recover Medicaid payments that should have been paid for by third-party health insurance. A prior audit, issued in July 2022, determined that the Department of Health (DOH) and OMIG lacked adequate oversight of the third-party liability recovery process. HMS had not billed third-party health insurance carriers for the recovery of about $292 million in pharmacy claims that MCOs paid as the primary insurance for recipients who, according to the Medicaid claims processing system, had third-party health insurance drug coverage. The follow-up found that, of the initial report’s six audit recommendations, three were partially implemented and three were not implemented.

 

Department of Motor Vehicles – Assessable Expenses of Administering the Motor Vehicle Financial Security Act and the Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Act for the State Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2023 (2023-M-1)
The Motor Vehicle Financial Security Act and the Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Act help ensure that the operators of motor vehicles driven in New York State possess adequate insurance coverage, or are financially secure, to compensate those persons they might injure or whose property they might damage as a result of an accident. The Department of Motor Vehicles is responsible for tracking the expenses of administering the acts and assessing these expenses on insurance carriers that issue policies or contracts of automotive bodily injury insurance. Auditors found that the expenses for administering the acts for the State Fiscal Year ended March 31, 2023 totaled $25.5 million.

 

New York Racing Association – Purchasing and Procurement Practices (Follow-Up) (2023-F-31)
The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA), a not-for-profit corporation that holds the exclusive franchise rights to operate New York State’s three major thoroughbred racetracks, entered into a bankruptcy settlement agreement in September 2008, conveying all rights, titles, and interests in its racetracks to the State. In return, the State forgave nearly all of NYRA’s debt obligations and a Franchise Oversight Board was established to oversee NYRA’s financial operations. A prior audit, issued in March 2022, found that NYRA needed to improve its monitoring and oversight of its purchasing and procurement process to promote sufficient competition. The follow-up found that of the initial report’s eight audit recommendations, three were implemented, two were partially implemented, and three were not implemented.

 

New York City Department of Education – Compliance With School Safety Planning Requirements (Follow-Up) (2022-F-32)
The New York State Safe Schools Against Violence in Education (SAVE) Act was signed into law in 2000 to promote a safer and more effective learning environment within State schools. Further, the Education Law requires schools and school districts to take safety planning actions and the State Education Department Commissioner’s Regulations and DOE Chancellor’s Regulations provide additional guidance. For example, the New York City Department of Education’s (DOE) District Safety Team must develop a comprehensive district-wide school safety plan and DOE’s schools must develop school-specific emergency response plans. A prior audit, issued in June 2019, determined that DOE could improve its compliance with the school safety planning requirements. The follow-up found that, of the initial report’s 19 recommendations, nine were implemented, four were partially implemented, and six were not implemented.

 

New York City Department of Buildings – Oversight of Building Construction Site Safety (Follow-Up) (2023-F-32)
The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) is responsible for regulating the safe and lawful use of buildings and construction sites to promote the safety of all people who visit, live, and work in NYC. A prior audit, issued in September 2022, found that DOB’s oversight of building construction sites and enforcement activity needed to be improved to ensure that responsible parties report all building construction site incidents and comply with codes, rules, and regulations. Additionally, DOB’s enforcement activities provided limited assurance that immediately hazardous conditions identified by DOB were being addressed in a timely manner. The follow-up found that, of the initial report’s six recommendations, two were implemented, one was partially implemented, and three were not implemented.

 

New York City Department of Social Services – New York City Department of Homeless Services – Oversight of Contract Expenditures of Samaritan Daytop Village, Inc. (2022-N-6)
The New York City Department of Homeless Services (DHS), a unit of the New York City Department of Social Services (DSS), is responsible for providing transitional housing and services for eligible homeless families and individuals in New York City (City) and for providing fiscal oversight of the homeless shelters. In July 2013, DHS contracted with Samaritan, a City-based not-for-profit organization, to provide services for men with mental illness at their 160-bed Myrtle Avenue Men’s Shelter (Myrtle) for the period from August 2013 to June 2018. To qualify for reimbursement, Samaritan’s expenses must comply with the DHS Human Service Providers Fiscal Manual, the New York City Health and Human Services Cost Policies and Procedures Manual, and the Myrtle contract. The audit found that DHS is not effectively monitoring its contract with Samaritan to ensure reported costs are allowable, supported, and program related. For the two fiscal years ended June 30, 2021, auditors identified $566,556 that did not comply with requirements.

About the New York State Common Retirement Fund

The New York State Common Retirement Fund [Fund]  is one of the largest public pension funds in the United States. The Fund holds and invests the assets of the New York State and Local Retirement System on behalf of more than one million state and local government employees and retirees and their beneficiaries. It has consistently been ranked as one of the best managed and best funded plans in the nation.

On February 03, 2024, Comptroller DiNapoli announced that the estimated value of the Fund was $259.9 billion at the end of the third quarter of state fiscal year 2023-24. For the three-month period ending Dec. 31, 2023, Fund investments returned an estimated 6.18%.

“The markets have seen an improvement over the past quarter, but some volatility remains,” DiNapoli said. “Economic opinions are mixed about the year ahead and uncertainty persists. Still, thanks to our prudent management and long-term strategy, our pensioners and members can remain confident that their pension benefits are safe.”

The Fund's value reflects retirement and death benefits of $4.2 billion paid out during the quarter. Its audited value was $248.5 billion as of March 31, 2023, the end of last state fiscal year.

As of Dec. 31, the Fund had 41.84% of its assets invested in publicly traded equities. The remaining Fund assets by allocation are invested in cash, bonds, and mortgages (22.62%), private equity (14.75%), real estate and real assets (13.30%) and credit, absolute return strategies, and opportunistic alternatives (7.49%).

The Fund’s long-term expected rate of return is 5.9%.

DiNapoli initiated quarterly performance reporting by the Fund in 2009 as part of his on-going efforts to increase accountability and transparency.

###

 

A claimant seeking unemployment insurance benefits is ineligible to receive such benefits if the claimant is not totally unemployed during the period claimed

In administrative appeals from four decisions issued by the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board the Claimants were found ineligible to receive unemployment insurance benefits because they were not totally unemployed during the period claimed.

Claimants were civil service employees working full-time at facilities operated by the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision [DOCCS]. performing services as either educational supervisors or instructors or teachers for incarcerated individuals. Claimants were paid an annual salary for their teaching or supervisory duties during the academic year, which typically ran from September 1 through the June 30, next following.*

Prior to 2020, all Claimants also elected performed services for DOCCS during the summer months and were paid additional compensation at an hourly rate. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, Claimants were not offered, and did not perform, additional duties over the summer months in 2020. 

Claimants, however, applied for and received various unemployment insurance benefits for 2020 summer months. Ultimately the Department of Labor [Department] determined that because Claimants were employed and paid on an annual basis with respect to their regular professional obligations, they were [1] not totally unemployed on the dates for which they sought unemployment benefits beginning in June 2020, [2] were deemed ineligible to receive state or federal benefits for this period and [3] were charged with recoverable over-payments for such period.

The Claimants appealed the Department's determination. An Administrative Law Judge [ALJ] concluded that Claimants were not entitled to regular unemployment insurance benefits, nor Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation [FPUC], Pandemic Unemployment Assistance [PUA] or Lost Wages Assistance [LWA] benefits because they were not fully unemployed during the period for which they sought any such benefits and held any such payments were recoverable.

Claimants' filed an administrative appeal challenging the ALJ's ruling. The Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board, however, issued the said four decisions affirming the ALJ's findings and conclusions. Claimants then filed a CPLR Article 78 petition appealing the Appeal Board's decisions.

The Appellate Division, referencing Matter of Almindo (New York State Dept. of Corr. & Community Supervision-Commissioner of Labor) [___ AD3d ___, 2023 NY Slip Op 0642], noted that not unlike the Claimants in the instant matter, the Almindo claimants were full-time instructors, teachers or educational supervisors employed by DOCCS at various correctional facilities. Similarly, Almindo claimants were paid an annual salary during the course of the academic year and had the option of receiving such salaries over the course of a 10- or 12-month period. 

As was the situation here, the claimants in Almindo were not offered additional work during the summer of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, applied for and received various state and federal unemployment benefits and subsequently were found to be ineligible to receive such benefits because "they were not totally unemployed during the relevant periods".

Noting the Almindo court had opined "The fact that optional, additional work was not available over the summer ..., as it had been in prior years, does not change the analysis or conclusion that [Almindo] claimants remained employed over the summer recess, i.e., they were not totally unemployed ... and, thus, were ineligible to receive regular unemployment benefits for that period", the Appellate Division, in the instant matter, held the Almindo "analysis and holding applies with equal force" to Claimants here and affirmed the Appeals Board's determinations, without costs.

* The Claimants had the option of receiving their annual salary over the course of either the 10-month academic year or the 12-month calendar year. Three Claimants elected to be paid over a 12-month period, and one claimant opted to be paid over a 10-month period.

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