Hearing officer's applying an incorrect standard in making his or her determination requires the remanding of the matter for a new hearing

Hearing officer's applying an incorrect standard in making his or her determination requires the remanding of the matter for a new hearing

McGowan v New York State & Local Police & Fire Retirement Sys., 2017 NY Slip Op 01751, Appellate Division, Third Department

James K. McGowanworked as a police officer for the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor. In 2010, he applied for accidental disability retirement benefits, alleging that he was permanently incapacitated from performing his job duties as the result of a work-related motor vehicle accident that occurred in 2005. His application was denied upon the ground that he was not permanently incapacitated from performing his duties as a police officer, and McGowan requested a hearing and redetermination.

The Hearing Officer upheld the denial, finding that McGowan had failed to meet his burden of establishing that he was permanently incapacitated from performing his job duties and that the initial determination was supported by substantial evidence.

The Appellate Division overturned the Comptroller's adoption of the Hearing Officer's determination. The court ruled that the Hearing Officer misstated and applied the incorrect legal standard in rendering her decision.

The Hearing Officer, said the court, improperly analyzed whether the initial determination was supported by substantial evidence, "rather than undertaking a redetermination and exercising the same powers upon such hearing as upon the original application."

As the Comptroller failed to recognize this error of law prior to adopting the Hearing Officer's decision, the Appellate Division ruled that the Comptroller's the determination must be annulled and the matter remitted to the Comptroller for a new hearing.

The decision is posted on the Internet at:

http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2017/2017_01751.htm

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The Disability Benefits E-book: - This e-book focuses on disability benefits available to officers and employees in public service pursuant to Civil Service Law §§71, 72 and 73, General Municipal Law §207-a and §207-c, the Retirement and Social Security Law, the Workers’ Compensation Law, and similar provisions of law. For more information click on: http://booklocker.com/3916.html

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Appointments Pursuant to Sections 55-b and 55-c of the Civil Service Law

Appointments Pursuant to Sections 55-b and 55-c of the Civil Service Law

Source: NYS Department of Civil Service, Division of Staffing Services

NYS Department of Civil Service, Division of Staffing Services has published Policy Bulletin 17-01, Program Guidelines and Procedures for Appointments Pursuant to Sections 55-b and 55-c of the Civil Service Law.

These guidelines were adopted by the New York State Civil Service Commission at its meeting of February 2017 to clarify the policies and procedures to ensure the greatest employment opportunities for those persons with disabilities and Veterans with disabilities whose disabilities have placed them at a disadvantage in obtaining entry into the workforce.
 

The text of Policy Bulletin 17-01 is posted on the Internet at:

https://www.cs.ny.gov/ssd/Manuals/SPMM/1800Appointments/Policy%20Bulletin%2017-01.htm

A PDF version of Policy Bulletin 17-01 is available on the Internet at:

https://www.cs.ny.gov/ssd/pdf/pb17-01.pdf

Important Information on W-2/SSN Data Theft Scam

Important Information on W-2/SSN Data Theft Scam

Source: The Internal Revenue Service

The Internal Revenue Service has called attention to what it characterizes as "A dangerous email scam" currently circulating nationwide and targeting employers, including tax exempt entities, universities and schools, government and private-sector businesses.

The scammer poses as an internal executive requesting employee Forms W-2 and Social Security Number information from company payroll or human resources departments. They may even send an initial “Hi, are you in today” message before the request.

The IRS has established a process that will allow employers and payroll service providers to quickly report any data losses related to the W-2 scam. See details at Form W-2/SSN Data Theft: Information for Businesses and Payroll Service Providers. If notified in time, the IRS can take steps to prevent employees from being victimized by identity thieves filing fraudulent returns in their names. There also is information about how to report receiving the scam email even if you did not fall victim.

As a reminder, tax professionals who experience a data breach also should quickly report the incident to the IRS. Tax professionals may contact their local stakeholder liaison. See details at Data Theft Information for Tax Professionals.

Also note, IRS suggests that if your business received the email but did NOT fall victim to the scam, forward the email to the IRS. The IRS needs the email header from the phishing email for its investigation, which means you must do more than just forward the email to phishing@irs.gov. Here’s what to do with the W-2 email scam:

1. The email headers should be provided in plain ASCII text format. Do not print and scan
2. Save the phishing email as an email file on your computer desktop
3. Open your email and attach the phishing email file you previously saved
4. Send your email containing the attached phishing email file to phishing@irs.gov. Subject Line: W2 Scam. Do not attach any sensitive data such as employee SSNs or W-2s.
5. File a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3,) operated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.