SUNY at Albany's sabbatical leave policies and procedures reviewed by the State Comptroller

SUNY at Albany's sabbatical leave policies and procedures reviewed by the State Comptroller

Source: Office of the State Comptroller

A State Comptroller’s audit reports that State University of New York at Albany [SUNY-Albany] officials “failed to consistently follow guidelines for sabbatical leaves and granted questionable paid leave to other employees, unnecessarily costing taxpayers more than $1 million.”* The Comptroller recommended that SUNY-Albany “Take actions as needed, including the recovery of improper compensation payments, to address the matters presented.”

As to efforts to recover “improper compensation payments," in Trumansburg Central School District v Chalone, 87 A.D.2d 921, the Appellate Division agreed with the School District that it could recover the salary it paid to an educator during his sabbatical leave when he failed to return to his position as agreed upon completion of the leave.

Similarly, in State of New York v Gordon, 102 A.D.2d 990, affirmed, 64 N.Y.2d 712, the court ruled that the employer could recover the cost of the benefits it provided to an individual placed on leave for training purposes in the event he or she fails to return to his or her job.

Also, the State Comptroller has advised that a municipality may adopt a resolution requiring employees who are sent to schools for specialized training at the municipality’s expense in order to qualify for a promotion to reimburse the municipality for the cost of such training if they resign from their position within a specified period of time (Op. St. Comp. 82-4). 

* The Comptroller’s SUNY-Albany audit report is posted on the Internet at:

http://www.osc.state.ny.us/audits/allaudits/093013/11s34.pdf?utm_source=weeklynews20130804&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=073113release

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The law in effect at the time the administrative or court decision is made controls

The law in effect at the time the administrative or court decision is made controls

Trifaro v Town of Colonie, 31 AD3d 821

Pointing out that it is well established that, generally, the law is to be applied as it exists at the time a decision is rendered, even if the law has been altered since the commencement of the action or proceeding, the Appellate Division, citing citing Gager v White, 53 NY2d 475, 483 [1981], cert denied 454 US 1086, said that this rule applies to administrative and judicial proceedings alike.

Accordingly, the Appellate Division vacated a hearing officer’s determination that was based on the law at the time a hearing was requested rather than the law as it existed at the time the decision was made, notwithstanding the fact that the processing of the hearing was delayed by the individual requesting the hearing. 
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School district must offer its Medicare-eligible retirees the same health insurance benefits the district offers to its active employees

School district must offer its Medicare-eligible retirees the same health insurance benefits the district offers to its active employees

Anderson v Niagara Falls City Sch. Dist., 2013 NY Slip Op 23274, Supreme Court, Niagara County, State Supreme Court Justice Ralph A. Boniello, III

Medicare-eligible retirees of the Niagara Falls City School District [Plaintiffs] sued the school district alleging that the School District had diminished their health insurance benefits by placing them in the "Blue Cross/Blue Shield Forever Blue Medicare PPO 799 Plan" (Forever Blue Plan) without making a similar change in the health insurance plan in which the school district's active employees participated.

This, contended Plaintiffs, constituted a unilateral diminution of their benefits – i.e., additional or higher co-payment costs and medication costs -- as the result of the School District requiring that its Medicare-eligible retirees switch from the “Traditional Blue Plan” to the “Forever Blue Plan.”* In contrast, there was no corresponding diminution in the health insurance benefits provided the active employees. Indeed, said the court, it is undisputed that at the same time Plaintiffs were placed in Forever Blue, the active employees employed by the School District were placed in the NY-44 Health Benefits Trust Plan and as a result the active employees were provided with an increase or improvement of their overall health insurance benefits.

Plaintiffs alleged that this change violated the School District’s obligations under Chapter 504, Part B, §14 of the Laws of 2009 [The Moratorium provision]:

§14 addressed health insurance benefits available to retired employees of school districts and certain boards and, in pertinent part, provides that “a school district … shall be prohibited from diminishing the health insurance benefits provided to retirees and their dependents or the contributions such … district makes for such health insurance coverage … unless a corresponding diminution of benefits or contributions is effected from the present level during this period by such district or board [for] the corresponding group of active employees ….”

Among the differences noted by Justice Boniello: the Traditional Blue Plan did not require co-payments for nearly all medical services that took place in-network while the Forever Blue Plan requires co-payments for medical services that occur, both in and out-of-network, and required significantly higher co-payments for prescription medications.

While the School District claimed that it had “offset the additional out of pocket expenses” incurred by the Plaintiffs resulting from their enrollment in Forever Blue by creating a medical reimbursement account for each Medicare-eligible [retiree]," this account was capped at $600.00. Justice Boniello found that “while in some cases the $600.00 may be sufficient, it is entirely possible, and indeed probable, that in most cases it will not be enough.”

Justice Boniello concluded that the School District’s actions violated the mandates set out in Chapter 504, Part B, §14 of the Laws of 2009 and that the School District’s actions were arbitrary, capricious and unlawful.

Justice Boniello then directed the School District[1] to pay each of the Petitioners the amounts, together with interest, "that each has incurred and/or will incur" by reason of the School District’s action to the date of its compliance with the Moratorium provision; and further ordered the school district [2] “to cover the costs and/or provide health insurance coverage that will place the Petitioners in the same position that they would have been in but for the actions of the [School District].”

* A number of school districts, rather then unilaterally imposing such a change upon its Medicare-eligible retirees, have offered its Medicare-eligible retirees the option of either [1] remaining in the district's health insurance plan available to its active employees or [2] electing to switch to different health insurance plan.

The decision is posted on the Internet at:

http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2013/2013_23274.htm
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The Moreland Commission recently established by Governor Cuomo to investigate corruption in the public service issues its first subpoenas

The Moreland Commission recently established by Governor Cuomo to investigate corruption in the public service issues its first subpoenas

The editorial team of the NYMUNIBLOG, published by the Harris Beach law firm as a public service, has posted a new item, "Moreland Commission Issues First Subpoenas." The post reports that the Moreland Commission recently appointed by Governor Cuomo to investigate corruption in the public service has issued its “first wave of subpoenas” and that more subpoenas are expected to be issued in the near future. The Commission has scheduled initial public hearings to be held in September. 

The Moreland Act, now §6 of Executive Law, was passed by the New York State Legislature and signed into law in 1907. The Act authorizes the governor, in person or through one or more persons appointed by the governor, to examine the management and affairs of any department, board, bureau or commission of the State. Commission investigators have the power to interview witnesses, administer oaths, hold hearings, and seize any material deemed relevant to the Commission's investigation.

The Commission is expected to releasing an interim report by the end of 2013 and its final report in mid-2014. 

Additional information on the scope of investigations undertaken by a Moreland Commission is posted on the Harris Beach Legal Alert website at  “Insights into the history and intricacies of a Moreland Commission investigation.”
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Reports and audits issued by the New York State Comptroller

Reports and audits issued by the New York State Comptroller during the week ending August 19, 2013. [Click on text highlighted in bold to access the full report.] 

State Recovers $46 Million in Medicaid Payments Following DiNapoli Audit

New York state was able to recover $46 million in overpayments to nursing homes after an audit by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli found the Department of Health’s computer system failed to deduct payments some nursing home residents are required to pay for their care, according to a follow–up reportissued August 17, 2013 by DiNapoli. The new report, however, notes that deficiencies in the computer system still exist.

Contractor Charged in Federal Court for Defrauding NYS Health Department of Over $700,000

State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara Wednesday announced chargesagainst JOSEPH L. JUNKOVIC for allegedly engaging in a scheme to defraud the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) out of more than $700,000 dedicated to providing cancer screening services to low–income New Yorkers. JUNKOVIC allegedly used a not–for–profit corporation that he controlled, Cancer Service Network, Inc. to obtain more than $25 million in federal and state funding to administer cancer screening services, and then billed the NYSDOH for thousands of hours that he did not in fact work. He was arrested at his Bronx home Wednesday morning and presented in Manhattan federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald L. Ellis.

DiNapoli: State Fiscal Picture Stable

Tax collections were $18 million below updated projections during July, but receipts since the start of the fiscal year were 13.3 percent higher than last year because of strong personal income tax (PIT) receipts in April, according to the July cash report released Friday by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. July tax collections were 5.2 percent higher than last year, largely from an additional collection day for PIT withholding this month.

DiNapoli: New Medicaid Reimbursement Method Leads to $31 Million in Overpayments

The state Department of Health made as much as $31 million in excessive Medicaid payments for patients who died within 24 hours of being admitted to a hospital after a new method of calculating hospital payments went into effect, according to an auditreleased August 16, 2013 by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

DiNapoli: Long Island Pharmacy Swindled State Out Of $235,000

A Long Island pharmacy improperly collected at least $235,000 from Medicaid and the New York State Health Insurance Program over a four–year period, primarily through payments for phony prescriptions that were never delivered to patients, according to audits released Tuesday by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

Audit Finds New York City Property Owners Underreported $20 Million in Billboard Income

Hundreds of New York City property owners failed to report an estimated $20 million of taxable income from billboards according to an auditreleased Thursday by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli which was coordinated with New York City Comptroller John C. Liu. Auditors found the New York City Department of Finance failed to follow up on whether property owners were reporting income and did not impose penalties for late or inaccurate information.

NYS Common Retirement Fund Announces First Quarter Results

The New York State Common Retirement Fund’s (Fund) overall rate of return for the first quarter ending June 30, 2013, was 0.29 percent, according to New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. The Fund’s estimated value at the end of the first quarter of its fiscal year was $158.7 billion.

Comptroller DiNapoli Releases Municipal Audits

the Town of Alexandria;

the Village of Bolivar;

the Town of Coldspring;

the City of Glens Falls;

the Grahamsville Fire District;

the Town of Kendall;

the Mastics–Moriches–Shirley Community Library;

the Roosevelt Fire District;

the Schuyler County Sheriff’s Department;

and, the Steuben County Soil and Water Conservation District.

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