General Municipal Law Section 207-c disability benefits forfeited following a change of residence
Kevin O'Connor Et Al., v Police Commission Of The Town Of Clarkstown et al, 221 AD2d 444
Kevin O'Connor, a Town of Clarkstown police officer, was terminated from his position by the Police Commission pursuant to 30.1.d of the Public Officers Law because he "ceased to be an inhabitant within the geographical restrictions" set by law. Section 30.1.d provides that the public office "shall be vacant" if the officer does not live in the appropriate geographical area.* Clarkstown also discontinued paying O’Connor disability benefits pursuant to 207-c of the General Municipal Law following a work-related injury at the time he moved to Warren County.
O'Connor had moved to Warren County. Clarkstown is in Rockland County. Warren and Rockland Counties are not contiguous.
Significantly, the Appellate Division ruled that "the fact that O'Connor was disabled and entitled to the benefits of General Municipal Law Section 207-c(1) does not render Public Officers Law Section 30 inapplicable." Further, O’Connor could not cure this difficulty by returning and again becoming a resident of Rockland County or to a county contiguous to Rockland County.
The Appellate Division said that there was ample evidence to support the determination that O'Connor had ceased to be an inhabitant of the geographical area required for members of the Clarkstown Police Department. Accordingly, the Town’s decision was neither arbitrary nor capricious.
The Appellate Division also rejected O'Connor's claim that he satisfied Section 3.2's residence requirement because he "occasionally stayed" at an in-laws apartment that was within the geographical area."
* Section 3.2 of the Public Officers Law permits a police officer to reside in the same or a contiguous county in which the political subdivision employing the officer is located. Subdivision 19 of Section 3.2 sets out residence provisions applicable to police officers of the City of New York.
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General Municipal Law§§ 207-a and 207-c - a 1098 page e-book focusing on administering General Municipal Law Sections 207-a/207-c and providing benefits thereunder is available from the Public Employment Law Press. Click on http://section207.blogspot.com/ for further information about this electronic handbook.
Summaries of, and commentaries on, selected court and administrative decisions and related matters affecting public employers and employees in New York State in particular and possibly in other jurisdictions in general.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE [AI] IS NOT USED IN COMPOSING NYPPL SUMMARIES OF JUDICIAL AND QUASI-JUDICIAL DECISIONS.
Jan 19, 2011
The ground rules for individual holding two public offices simultaneously
The ground rules for individual holding two public offices simultaneously
Informal Opinions of the Attorney General, Informal Opinion 2000-9
Wondering if an attorney may simultaneously hold two different public offices? The answer: it depends on the situation!
The Attorney General recently advised Columbia County Attorney Beth A. O’Connor that an assistant county attorney could also serve as the mayor of a city located within the County (Informal Opinion 2000-9).
In contrast, the attorneys for Jefferson-Lewis BOCES were told that the office of district attorney was incompatible with that official’s membership on a BOCES or school board within his or her jurisdiction. [Informal Opinion 2000-13].
The standard applied by the Attorney General, citing Ryan v Green, 58 NY 295, is that except where prohibited by law, one person may hold two offices simultaneously unless they are incompatible.
What constitutes incompatibility for the purposes of dual office holding? Two offices are incompatible if one office is subordinate to the other or if there is an inherent inconsistency between the duties of the two offices.
In the assistant county attorney/mayor situation the Attorney General indicated that the two positions were compatible and based on the representation that the assistant county attorney would not engage in any legal matters involving the city, the duties of the two positions did not appear inconsistent.
In the district attorney/BOCES-school board situation, the Attorney General said that there appeared to be a conflict between the two offices in view of the district attorney’s broad discretion in determining when and in what manner to investigate suspected crimes. In addition, the Attorney General said that in view of the policy making functions involved in the BOCES/school board position, this dual office holding raises questions as to whether the district attorney can impartially carry out his [or her] broad prosecutorial discretion and, therefore, tends to undermine public confidence in the integrity of government.
In another dual office situation, the Attorney General concluded that an individual could simultaneously serve as a town assessor and as a member of a school board of a district that included the town [Informal Opinion 2000-14] because a town assessor determines the value of real property for the purposes of taxation while a school board member determines policy for the district.
Informal Opinions of the Attorney General, Informal Opinion 2000-9
Wondering if an attorney may simultaneously hold two different public offices? The answer: it depends on the situation!
The Attorney General recently advised Columbia County Attorney Beth A. O’Connor that an assistant county attorney could also serve as the mayor of a city located within the County (Informal Opinion 2000-9).
In contrast, the attorneys for Jefferson-Lewis BOCES were told that the office of district attorney was incompatible with that official’s membership on a BOCES or school board within his or her jurisdiction. [Informal Opinion 2000-13].
The standard applied by the Attorney General, citing Ryan v Green, 58 NY 295, is that except where prohibited by law, one person may hold two offices simultaneously unless they are incompatible.
What constitutes incompatibility for the purposes of dual office holding? Two offices are incompatible if one office is subordinate to the other or if there is an inherent inconsistency between the duties of the two offices.
In the assistant county attorney/mayor situation the Attorney General indicated that the two positions were compatible and based on the representation that the assistant county attorney would not engage in any legal matters involving the city, the duties of the two positions did not appear inconsistent.
In the district attorney/BOCES-school board situation, the Attorney General said that there appeared to be a conflict between the two offices in view of the district attorney’s broad discretion in determining when and in what manner to investigate suspected crimes. In addition, the Attorney General said that in view of the policy making functions involved in the BOCES/school board position, this dual office holding raises questions as to whether the district attorney can impartially carry out his [or her] broad prosecutorial discretion and, therefore, tends to undermine public confidence in the integrity of government.
In another dual office situation, the Attorney General concluded that an individual could simultaneously serve as a town assessor and as a member of a school board of a district that included the town [Informal Opinion 2000-14] because a town assessor determines the value of real property for the purposes of taxation while a school board member determines policy for the district.
Jan 18, 2011
Beware of Face Book
Beware of Face Book
Source: Adjunct Law Prof Blog; http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/adjunctprofs/
Reproduced with permission. Copyright © 2011, Mitchell H. Rubinstein, Esq., Adjunct Professor of Law, St. Johns Law School and New York Law School, All rights reserved.
Can employers get access to your Face Book account? Increasingly, the answer may be yes. In a New York case, where the plaintiff's physical condition was at issue, a lower court judge ordered that a defendant be granted access, Romano v. Steelcase, Inc., ___Misc.3d____(Suffolk Co. 2010). See also, Law.com discussion.
There are also some cases granting disclosure of Face Book accounts in the context of attorney disciplinary proceedings as discussed in Legal Prof Blog.
Moral of the story: Beware what you post on the internet. It can come back to haunt you!
Mitchell H. Rubinstein
Hat Tip: Legal Writing Prof Blog
NYPPL Comments: See, also, Matson v. Board of Education of the School District of City of New York, USCA, 2nd Circuit, 09-3773-cv.
The Matson decision by the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals concludes that “Not all ‘serious medical conditions’ are protected by a constitutional right to privacy” and is posted by NYPPL at http://publicpersonnellaw.blogspot.com/2011/01/not-all-serious-medical-conditions-are.html
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Source: Adjunct Law Prof Blog; http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/adjunctprofs/
Reproduced with permission. Copyright © 2011, Mitchell H. Rubinstein, Esq., Adjunct Professor of Law, St. Johns Law School and New York Law School, All rights reserved.
Can employers get access to your Face Book account? Increasingly, the answer may be yes. In a New York case, where the plaintiff's physical condition was at issue, a lower court judge ordered that a defendant be granted access, Romano v. Steelcase, Inc., ___Misc.3d____(Suffolk Co. 2010). See also, Law.com discussion.
There are also some cases granting disclosure of Face Book accounts in the context of attorney disciplinary proceedings as discussed in Legal Prof Blog.
Moral of the story: Beware what you post on the internet. It can come back to haunt you!
Mitchell H. Rubinstein
Hat Tip: Legal Writing Prof Blog
NYPPL Comments: See, also, Matson v. Board of Education of the School District of City of New York, USCA, 2nd Circuit, 09-3773-cv.
The Matson decision by the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals concludes that “Not all ‘serious medical conditions’ are protected by a constitutional right to privacy” and is posted by NYPPL at http://publicpersonnellaw.blogspot.com/2011/01/not-all-serious-medical-conditions-are.html
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Editor in Chief Harvey Randall served as Director of Personnel, SUNY Central Administration, Director of Research , Governor's Office of Employee Relations; Principal Attorney, Counsel's Office, New York State Department of Civil Service, and Colonel, New York Guard.
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