Individual whose new employer rescinded the offer of employment for good cause disqualified for Unemployment Insurance benefits under the circumstances

Individual whose new employer rescinded the offer of employment for good cause disqualified for Unemployment Insurance benefits under the circumstances

2013 NY Slip Op 03735, Appellate Division, Third Department

A public employee [Claimant] delivered his letter of resignation to the appointing authority indicating that he had been offered, and had accepted, a position at another facility.

Subsequently Claimant drove a motor vehicle after he had taken prescription medication and was arrested for “driving while ability impaired.” When his prospective employer learned of his arrest, it withdrew its offer of employment and Claimant’s former employer would not allow him to withdraw or retract his resignation.*

The Department of Labor initially disqualified Claimant from receiving unemployment insurance benefits, finding that he voluntarily left his employment without good cause.

Claimant appealed and after a hearing, an Administrative Law Judge overruled this determination. The Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board reversed the Administrative Law Judge’s decision and Claimant appealed the Board’s ruling.

The Appellate Division affirm the Board’s decision, explaining "A claimant's conduct . . . with regard to accepting a new position is a critical element in determining whether separation from employment was for good cause."

In this instance, said the court, Claimant had a valid offer of employment at the time he tendered his resignation but he lost this offer through his own poor judgment in driving a motor vehicle after taking prescription medication.

Under these circumstances, said the court, substantial evidence supports the Board's finding that good cause did not exist for Claimant's voluntary departure from employment and that he was disqualified from receiving benefits and it found

* Given that Claimant worked in the field of substance abuse prevention, the Appellate Division said that his former employer was justified in refusing to allow Claimant to rescind his resignation. 

The decision is posted on the Internet at:

http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2013/2013_03735.htm

New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo releases provisional open data guidelines to increase transparency among state agencies

New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo releases provisional open data guidelines to increase transparency among state agencies

Source: Office of the Governor

On June 13, 2013, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo released provisional open data guidelines for state agencies and public authorities to participate in Open.ny.gov. New York is the first state in the nation to publish its provisional open data guidelines* and seek public comment on GitHub, an open source platform that allows for open collaboration and sharing. Public comment is open until September 1, 2013.

Governor Cuomo said. “This transparency website is a coordinated effort by all of state government, so today’s provisional open data guidelines will provide direction to state agencies and authorities on how to catalogue and share their data on Open.ny.gov. I encourage New Yorkers to submit their comments as we work to build a new level of openness in government.”

On March 11, 2013, the Governor issued Executive Order 95** along with launching Open.ny.gov. The Executive Order directed state agencies, for the first time, to review and catalogue data they collect, and take steps to make public data available on Open.ny.gov in accordance with guidelines developed by the NYS Office of Information Technology Services (ITS).

These guidelines are designed for use by both covered state entities and other government entities not covered by Executive Order 95 including localities. The guidelines will help with identifying, reviewing, and prioritizing state data for publication. The Executive Order directs ITS to encourage public input and finalize the guidelines in the coming months.

Robert Freeman, Executive Director of the Committee on Open Government, said, “The use of Github represents a first among the fifty states, and will serve as the equivalent of a chat room open to the world. It will enable thoughtful and creative people to make contributions and communicate in a manner that can only improve the operation of government.”

Open.ny.gov is a comprehensive state data transparency website that provides user-friendly, one-stop access to open data from New York State agencies, localities, and the federal government. "Open data" refers to data that is free from restrictions and can be released in a format that can be retrieved, downloaded, indexed, and searched by commonly used web search applications. Open.ny.gov provides "open data" access and transparency to the wealth of information collected and maintained by the state and local governments. It allows researchers, citizens, business, and the tech community direct, centralized access to high-value government data to search, explore, download, and share. 

 * The Provisional Open Data Handbook is posted on the Internet at:

http://nys-its.github.io/open-data-handbook/

** Executive Order 95 is posted on the Internet at: http://www.governor.ny.gov/executiveorder/95

Application to participate in the employer's “Vested Benefits Program” rejected because the individual was not an employee “in good standing” when he resigned from his position

Application to participate in the employer's “Vested Benefits Program” rejected because the individual was not an employee “in good standing” when he resigned from his position

2013 NY Slip Op 04102, Appellate Division, First Department

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey advised an employee that disciplinary action was being taken against him because he failed to obtain the Authority’s permission to engage in outside employment that was required to be so employed. 

Subsequently the employee submitted his resignation from his position with the Port Authority and then filed an application to participate in the Authority’s Vested Benefits Program “as a retiree.”

The Port Authority rejected the individual’s application to participate in its Vested Benefits Program because was not an employee “in good standing” when he submitted his resignation from his position. As a matter of policy the Authority deemed that “disciplinary action is pending” if the employee has been informed that disciplinary charges are being prepared.

According to the Appellate Division’s decision, the Authority’s rejection of the individual's application to participate in the Authority's "Vested Benefit Program" was based on its long standing policy that an employee who resigns while disciplinary charges are pending is not “in good standing and is therefore not entitled to such benefits.”

As the individual had been advised that disciplinary charges were being prepared prior to the effective date of his resignation, the Appellate Division ruled that the Authority’s rejection of his application to participate in the Authority’s Vested Benefits Program was  “not arbitrary and capricious or affected by an error of law.”

The court then indicated that the Authority had “reasonably complied with its own regulations when it determined that the lack of good standing disqualified petitioner from eligibility to participate in the Vested Benefits Program.”

The decision is posted on the Internet at:       

http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2013/2013_04102.htm