Administrative procedures to be followed are negotiable within the meaning of the Taylor Law

In this action, the Court of Appeals addressed the question whether Article 14 of the Civil Service Law, typically referred to as the Taylor Law, requires a public employer to engage in collective bargaining to determine the administrative procedures to be followed in determining if an employee placed on "workers' compensation leave" pursuant to Section 71 of the Civil Service Lawmay be terminated from the position if the individual is "absent from work for more than a year due to an injury sustained in the line of duty".

The decision notes that in Matter of City of Schenectady v New York State Public Employment  Relations Board, 85 NY2d 480 [Schenectady] the Court of Appeals held that "a city's authority under section 207-c to make initial determinations about those matters is not 'subject to mandatory bargaining' but left open the question of whether 'the procedures for implementation of the requirements of [section] 207-c' are a subject of collective bargaining."

The Court of Appeals then noted that it "answered that question in the affirmative five years later" in Matter of City of Watertown v State of New York Public Employment Relations Board, 95 NY2d 73 [Watertown], holding that "the procedures for contesting the City's determinations under section 207-c are a mandatory subject of bargaining."

Distinguishing its ruling in Schenectady, in Watertown the court concluded that "[u]nlike the initial determinations themselves - which were at issue in Schenectady 'the text of section 207-c says nothing about the procedures for contesting those determinations'" and explained that "'based on the text and history of section 207-c, it was evident that [t]he Legislature expressed no intent - let alone the required 'plain' or 'clear' intent - to remove the review procedures from mandatory bargaining".

Opining that it is undisputed that the City's right to terminate the employee is not a  mandatory negotiation subject of collective bargaining, the Court of Appeals held that the City must negotiate the administrative procedures necessary to implement that right, concluding that in this instance "collective bargaining is required."

Click HEREto access the Court of Appeal' ruling in the instant action.

 

New leave polices for employees of the State of New York as the employer issued

The New York State Department of Civil Service has announced the publication of the new Attendance and Leave Policy Bulletins listed below: 

Policy Bulletin 2022-04, World University Games – Paid Leave for Volunteers 

Policy Bulletin 2022-05, Implementation of the Productivity Enhancement Program for 2023 

If you wish to print Policy Bulletin 2022-04, a version in PDF format is available at: https://www.cs.ny.gov/attendance_leave/pb2022-04.pdf 

If you wish to print Policy Bulletin 2022-05, a version in PDF format is available at:https://www.cs.ny.gov/attendance_leave/PEP2023_Combined.pdf 

To view previous Attendance and Leave bulletins issued by the Department of Civil Service, visit: https://www.cs.ny.gov/attendance_leave/index.cfm

Procedural errors and omissions result dismissial of the action without addressing the merit of the complaint

Supreme Court denied Plaintiff's amended petition seeking a court order annulling her former employer's denial of her request to withdraw her resignation and dismissed the proceeding brought pursuant to CPLR Article 78. Plaintiff appealed but the Appellate Division unanimously affirmed the lower court's ruling.

The Appellate Division explained Plaintiff had attempted to file an "amended" Article 78 petition two years after filing her initial petition without first obtaining a "leave to amend" was improper.

Further, said the court, Plaintiff's was petition untimely, as she "failed to file it within four months of the employer's decision to deny her request to withdraw her resignation.

Significantly, the Appellate Division noted the Plaintiff's claim that her initial filing tolled the statute of limitations was unavailing "because the time to commence an Article 78 proceeding is not extended by her eventual pursuit of administrative remedies," citing Matter of Mendez v New York City Dept. of Educ., 128 AD3d 584.

Noting the decision in Sumner v Hogan, 73 AD3d 618, the Appellate Division opined that Plaintiff's petition also failed because she did not exhaust her administrative remedies prior to initiating her Article 78 proceeding as required by the relevant collective bargaining agreement. 

Click HEREto access the text of the Appellate Division's decision.