Settling a disciplinary action subject to compulsory arbitration by entering into a "Last Chance Agreement"

Plaintiff, a tenured teacher employed by a New York State school district [Employer] was served with  disciplinary charges alleging Plaintiff had failed to accurately document speech services during the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 school years. 

Plaintiff and the Employer subsequently entered into a "Last Change Agreement" [LCA] to settle the disciplinary action whereby the parties mutually agreed that "if, at any time prior to the last day of the 2021-2022 school year following written notice and a 45-day period to cure", Plaintiff was determined by a hearing officer "after a hearing pursuant to Education Law §3020-a to have engaged in similar neglect, the [Employer] would be entitled to terminate the [Plaintiff's] employment."

On April 5, 2021, the Employer notified the Plaintiff that she was not in  compliance with the LCA due to her failure to accurately document speech services during the 2020-2021 school year and directed her to cure the deficiencies within 45 days.

Plaintiff failed to timely to cure alleged failure as required by the terms of the LCA and the Employer filed disciplinary charges against Plaintiff.

In the course of the Education Law §3020-a disciplinary action which followed, Plaintiff contended that the charged misconduct was not substantially similar to the misconduct giving rise to the LCA "because she had been assigned additional duties and responsibilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic and that she did enter the required information to accurately document the services she provided".

The hearing officer permitted the Employer to rebut Plaintiff's assertions by demonstrating that the additional entries submitted by Plaintiff "were entered after the 45-day period to cure and that prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, she had failed to document her sessions during the 2019-2020 school year, which was outside of the charged period". 

The disciplinary hearing officer issued a determination which sustained the charges and specifications alleged by the Employer and authorized the termination of Plaintiff's employment. Plaintiff appealed the hearing officer's decision in an effort to have it vacated, contending that the [disciplinary] arbitration did not conform with Education Law §3020-a. Supreme Court denied the Employer's motion to dismiss Plaintiff's appeal and ultimately granted Plaintiff's petition. The Employer appealed the Supreme Court's judgment.

The Appellate Division reversed the Supreme Court' ruling and granted the Employer's motion to dismiss Plaintiff's petition; explaining:

1. "The standard of review mandated by Education Law §3020-a (5)(a) is that of CPLR article 75, which provides that an arbitration award may be vacated only on a showing of misconduct, bias, excess of power, or procedural defects";

2. Where, as here, the obligation to arbitrate arises through statutory mandate, the hearing officer's determination is subject to closer judicial scrutiny than it would receive had the arbitration been conducted voluntarily;

3. The award in a compulsory arbitration proceeding must have evidentiary support and cannot be arbitrary and capricious; and

4. In addition, CPLR Article 75 reviews questions whether the decision was rational or had a plausible basis.

Citing Matter of Harvey v Board of Educ. of the Uniondale Union Free Sch. Dist., 221 AD3d 899, the Appellate Division then observed that "When reviewing compulsory arbitrations in education proceedings such as this, the court should accept the hearing officer's credibility determinations, even where there is conflicting evidence and room for choice exists" and concluded that the determination recommending the termination of the termination of Plaintiff's employment was rational, had evidentiary support, and was not arbitrary and capricious.

The Appellate Division's decision also observed that a "last chance agreement constituted a valid, binding contract, and the neglect complained of [in the instant action], to wit, the failure to accurately document speech services during the 2020-2021 school year, was identical to the previously charged conduct".

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

Disability included in New York State's Aging Law and Policy

On October 8, 2025, Albany Law School's Government Law Center and the Office of the Chief Disability Officer of the State of New York [OCDO] hosted Albany Law School's Nancy M. Sills 76th Memorial Lecture. 

Leaders and advocates from the OCDO discussed the intersections of disability and aging and efforts being made to include the needs of individuals with disabilities in New York State's aging laws and policies.

Click HERE to access the Podcast of the presentation posted on the Internet.

Amending an application for Workers' Compensation benefits to include alleged consequential injuries

Claimant for Workers' Compensation benefits appealed the Workers' Compensation Board's [Board] decision disallowing Claimant's request to amend his earlier established claim to include consequential injuries.

Claimant had established a claim for workers' compensation benefits based upon an exacerbation of a preexisting chemical sensitivity and Claimant's employer reassigned Claimant to work at a different location. Subsequently, Claimant's treating physician advised Claimant's employer that Claimant's reassignment to the new location had resulted in "a complete resolution" of Claimant's symptoms and requested that the reassignment be made permanent. Claimant continued to work at the new location until January 2020 when he took a leave of absence to care for his ailing mother and commenced working from home. 

Claimant subsequently complained of certain mental health difficulties to his treating physician, asserting that, while working from home while on leave, he was harassed by his supervisor concerning his work. Claimant's physician diagnosed Claimant with a number of psychological conditions related to those complaints and Claimant then sought to amend his established chemical sensitivity claim claim "to include anxiety, depressed mood, major depressive disorder and insomnia as consequential injuries".

A Workers' Compensation Law Judge [WCLJ] found that Claimant had not demonstrated that his psychological injuries were a direct or natural consequence of his initial chemical related injury and disallowed the claim for "consequential injuries". The Workers' Compensation Board affirmed the WCLJ's findings, and Claimant appealed the Board ruling.

The Appellate Division sustained the Board's determination, noting:

1. Substantial evidence supported the Board's finding that Claimant's alleged psychological injuries did not result from a fear of being assigned to work at his original location;

2. Claimant "has not demonstrated that the asserted psychological injuries resulted directly and naturally from his prior chemical insensitivity disability so as to establish a consequential injury"; and

3. Claimant's allegations with respect to harassment, "were too remote to establish a causal nexus to the prior disability, even if the actions could constitute a separate and distinct claim for work-related stress.

The Appellate Division said its "review of the record as a whole" found no basis to disturb the Board's determination that Claimant failed to demonstrate, "by competent medical evidence, a causal relationship between his established disability and his alleged consequential injuries", and held that the Board's decision to reject Claimant's alleged consequential injuries was supported by substantial evidence.

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

Selected items posted on blogs during the week ending October 17, 2025

How AI-Powered Agents Streamline State and Local Service Delivery Explore how AI agents can help state and local governments handle routine tasks, streamline operations, and give staff more time for complex issues. DOWNLOAD

Preparing Utilities & Local Governments for a Paperless World The paperless future is here. Is your utility or local government ready? From rising postage costs to time-consuming manual processes, the shift to digital billing and payments is no longer optional — it’s essential. This resource explores how utilities can embrace a paperless future to cut costs, improve operational efficiencies, and meet modern demands. DOWNLOAD

Transparency in Motion: Real-Time Data for Safer Streets and Stronger Communities Public safety agencies are under pressure to do more with less -- respond faster, operate more efficiently, and remain accountable to both leadership and the communities they serve. This paper explores how telematics and in-vehicle data are helping agencies meet those expectations and deliver measurable results.   DOWNLOAD

Human-Guided Automation: Smarter, Safer Endpoint Security Autonomous endpoint management keeps humans in control while boosting compliance, speed, and resilience.  READ MORE

Secure by Design: A Plan for Ransomware Defense From real-world examples of emerging extortion tactics to actionable guidance on vulnerability scanning, 24/7 detection, and incident response planning, this paper is a must-read for every government IT leader committed to safeguarding digital infrastructure and public trust. DOWNLOAD

When Disaster Strikes, Coordination Keeps Recovery Moving Who restores critical connections after natural disasters? See the teamwork behind recovery and the need for close coordination to speed recovery efforts. Watch the film.

Natural Disaster, National Attention Public Records Request Management Steps Up in Time of Need READ MORE