New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced the following audits and reports were issued during the week ending September 30, 2017

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced the following audits and reports were issued during the week ending September 30, 2017

Source: Office of the State Comptroller

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Audit Recommends Improved Oversight of Nurse Licensing by State Education Department

The State Education Department should improve its process to investigate serious complaints against nurses and more actively monitor professional misconduct, according to an auditby New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

State Comptroller DiNapoli Announces Latest Fiscal Stress Scores

State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli’s Fiscal Stress Monitoring System has designated 27 municipalities across the state as fiscally stressed. The list, which includes eight counties, eight cities and 11 towns, marks the fewest number of municipalities listed in stress since DiNapoli implemented his early-warning system in 2013. 

The Erie Canal: Celebrating 200 Years of a National Landmark 

This year is the 200th anniversary of the groundbreaking of the Erie Canal. The Office of the State Comptroller played a key role in overseeing the funds for the building of the Erie Canal, which took eight years to complete initially at a cost of $7 million, an enormous undertaking at the time. Starting in 1817, the State Comptroller served on the Canal’s Board of Commissioners, which was responsible for transacting all canal business; later, the duty of auditing the Canal’s accounts was assigned to the Comptroller’s office. The Canal contributed to the rise of New York City as a global financial capital and energized the state's economy.

A court's review of an administrative decision made after an adversarial hearing is limited to considering if the decision is supported by substantial evidence

A court's review of an administrative decision made after an adversarial hearing is limited to considering if the decision is supported by substantial evidence

2017 NY Slip Op 04447, Appellate Division, Second Department

The Commissioner of the City of Mount Vernon Police Department, after a disciplinary hearing conducted pursuant to §75 of the Civil Service Law, found the employee [Petitioner] guilty of certain disciplinary charges and imposed the penalty of termination. Petitioner initiated an Article 78 action challenging the Commissioner's determination.

The Appellate Division affirmed the Commissioner's action and dismissed the proceeding "on the merits, with costs."

The court explained that "Judicial review of an administrative determination made after a hearing at which evidence is taken pursuant to direction of law is limited to a consideration of whether that determination was supported by substantial evidence upon the whole record."

Citing Berenhaus v Ward, 70 NY2d 436, the Appellate Division said that in the event there is conflicting evidence in the record or different inferences can be drawn from the evidence in the record, "the duty of weighing the evidence and making the choice rests solely upon the [administrative agency]. The courts may not weigh the evidence or reject the choice made by [such agency] where the evidence is conflicting and room for choice exists."

Here, said the court, "any credibility issues were resolved by the Commissioner and we find no basis upon which to disturb the determination, which was supported by substantial evidence."

Addressing the penalty imposed on the employee by the Commissioner, termination, the Appellate Division applied the so-called "Pell Doctrine," Matter of Pell v Board of Educ. of Union Free School Dist. No. 1 of Towns of Scarsdale & Mamaroneck, Westchester County, 34 NY2d 222, and held that "the penalty of termination of [Petitioner's] employment was not so disproportionate to the offense committed as to be shocking to one's sense of fairness.

The decision is posted on the Internet at:

http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2017/2017_04447.htm

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A Reasonable Disciplinary Penalty Under the Circumstances - The text of this publication focuses on determining an appropriate disciplinary penalty to be imposed on an employee in the public service in instances where the employee has been found guilty of misconduct or incompetence. Now available in two formats - as a large, paperback print edition, and as an e-book. For more information click on http://booklocker.com/7401.html

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The United State Supreme Court's 2017 October Term - selected cases

The United State Supreme Court's 2017 October Term - selected cases  

Source: Justia

Below are selected cases of the 29 scheduled to be considered by the United States Supreme Court during its October 2017 term that may be of particular interest to those involved in or with the public sector:

Justia Daily Opinion Summaries is a free service, with 68 different newsletters, covering every federal appellate court and the highest courts of all US states. Justia also provides weekly practice area newsletters in 63 different practice areas.*

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Carpenter v. United States A case in which the Court will determine whether the warrantless seizure and search of cell phone records revealing the location and movements of a cell phone user over the course of 127 days violates the Fourth Amendment.

Christie v. National Collegiate Athletic Association A case in which the Court will decide whether a federal statute that prohibits modification or repeal of state-law prohibitions on private conduct impermissibly commandeers the regulatory power of states in contravention of New York v. United States.

Gill v. Whitford A case in which the Court will decide whether partisan gerrymandering claims are justiciable, and whether the district court erred in striking down Wisconsin’s redistricting plan as an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander.

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