Probationary employee improperly terminated entitled to back salary

Probationary employee improperly terminated entitled to back salary

92 AD2d 259

A probationary teacher was found to have been “improperly terminated” by her school principal. One year later the Chancellor of the Board of Education, City of New York, reinstated the educator to her former position. 

As the Court of Appeals noted in Frasier v Board of Educ. of City School Dist. of City of N.Y., 71 NY2d 763, where there has been an unlawful removal from service, back pay is authorized upon reinstatement.
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Goggle Statistics – March 2014

Goggle Statistics – March 2014

Goggle Statisticsreports the following have been the most frequently accessed NYPPL items as of March 31, 2014.

Essentials of the “Pickering Balancing Test”             2721 “hits”

The legal distinction between domicile and residence            1655 “hits”

Any administrative action in the nature of discipline taken against a tenured teacher must be taken pursuant to Education Law §3020-a exclusively            1234 “hits”

Employee's inability to provide the necessary urine sample for a drug test because of a medical condition trumps allegations of misconduct                   1070 “hits”

Two different complaints; two different forums            970 “hits”
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New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli offers proposal to encourage better local government budgeting practices

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli offers proposal to encourage better local government budgeting practices

Source: Office of the State Comptroller

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli has introduced a proposed bill* aimed at helping local governments across New York improve their long-term budget planning. The bill would provide reimbursement from the state to municipalities for costs incurred for hiring financial advisors to assist in the development of multi-year budget plans.

Key elements of the proposed legislation include providing for counties, cities, towns and villages identified as fiscally stressed to be reimbursed by the state’s Financial Restructuring Board for Local Governments for all or part of the costs associated with long-term budget planning and multi-year financial planning to enable these entities to develop revenue and expenditure trends, establish long-term priorities and goals, and take into consideration the impact of near-term budgeting decisions on future fiscal years.

* Comptroller’s Program Bill #35. The proposed legislation is part of the Comptroller’s fiscal stress initiative that includes the creation of a Fiscal Stress Monitoring System for local governments. The system, implemented in 2013, uses financial indicators that include year-end fund balance, cash position and patterns of operating deficits to create an overall fiscal stress score which classifies whether a municipality is in “significant fiscal stress,” in “moderate fiscal stress,” is “susceptible to fiscal stress,” or “no designation.” As of April 22, 2014, DiNapoli’s monitoring system has identified a total of 142 municipalities in some level of fiscal stress. This includes 16 counties, 18 towns, five cities, 16 villages and 87 school districts.

The Comptroller’s proposal is posted on the Internet at:
http://www.osc.state.ny.us/legislation/2013-14/oscb35.htm
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The Warren M. Anderson Breakfast Series Seminar’s Campaign Finance session is scheduled for April 29, 2014

The Warren M. Anderson Breakfast Series Seminar’s Campaign Finance session is scheduled for April 29, 2014

Source: Government Law Center, Albany Law School

The Albany Law School’s Government Law Center will host the next 2014 Annual Warren M. Anderson Breakfast Seminar Series, a nonpartisan hour-long breakfast program, on April 29 from 8-9 a.m. in the Assembly Parlor, at the State Capitol, 3rd FL. The program continues to be offered free of charge, but space is limited.

Richard Brodsky and John Faso will discuss Campaign Finance.

For those interested, each seminar is accredited for one hour of transitional and non-transitional CLE credit in the area of “Professional Practice.”

To register or to obtain more information, contact Ms. Amy Gunnells at agunn@albanylaw.eduor telephone 518-445-2329.

Applying for accidental disability retirement and performance of duty disability retirement benefits

Applying for accidental disability retirement and performance of duty disability retirement benefits

2014 NY Slip Op 02120, Appellate Division, Third Department

The Appellate, considering the application of a correction officer [Plaintiff] to review a determination of New York Employees’ Retirement System that denied her applications for accidental disability and performance of duty disability retirement benefits, dismissed the action on the grounds that Petitioner’s application for such benefits was untimely filed.

Petitioner was injured when she slipped on ice while on her way to the building where her locker was located in order to change out of her uniform. Thereafter, she returned to work for only one day and received her last payroll check in July 2009. Petitioner was then placed on unpaid approved medical leave of absence and received workers' compensation benefits.

In January 2011, Petitioner applied for accidental disability retirement benefits under Retirement and Social Security Law §507-a, alleging that she was permanently incapacitated as a result of the injuries she sustained when she slipped on ice some two years earlier. In the alternative, Plaintiff filed an application for performance of duty disability benefits pursuant to §507-b of the Retirement and Social Security Law.

In February 2011, Petitioner was terminated and issued a check representing her accrued vacation pay. In the alternative, Plaintiff filed an application for performance of duty disability benefits. Both applications were denied and petitioner timely requested a hearing and redetermination.

Addressing the issue of the timeliness of Petitioner’s applications for accidental disability retirement benefits the Appellate Division explained that §507-a(b)(2) specifically provides that such an application "must be filed within three months from the last date the member was being paid on the payroll or within twelve months of the last date he [or she] was being paid on the payroll provided he [or she] was on a leave of absence for medical reasons without pay during such twelve month period provided the member was disabled at the time he [or she] ceased being paid."

Noting that Petitioner did not file her application for accidental disability retirement benefits within these time limits, the court ruled that neither her receipt of workers' compensation benefits nor the check she received for accrued vacation time qualifies as payments "on the payroll" for purposes of the statute, citing Matter of Schwartz v McCall, 300 AD2d 887.

Accordingly, the Appellate Division held that the Retirement Systems determination “that [Petitioner's] application [for accidental disability retirement benefits] was untimely is rational and supported by substantial evidence."

Turning to the denial of Petitioner's §507-b application for performance of duty disability retirement benefits, the court conclude that there was substantial evidence supporting Retirement System's determination as both Petitioner and her counsel conceded at the hearing that the January 2009 incident was not caused by an act of an inmate and no proof that would support such a finding was produced at the hearing. Thus, said the Appellate Division, Petitioner's current claim that her fall must have been caused by negligent maintenance on the part of an inmate is speculative and lacks support in the record.

The decision is posted on the Internet at: http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2014/2014_02120.htm