Provides procedures to be followed in appointing a hearing officer for removal and disciplinary action against certain public employees not in the service of the city of New York, including the use of a member of the American Arbitration Association as the hearing officer and the fees to be paid therefor; provides for suspension, with pay, pending the determination except where the employee has entered a guilty plea to a felony crime involving criminal sale or possession of a controlled substance.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7624B
SPONSOR: Abbate TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the civil service law, in relation to hearing procedures
for certain public employees
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Provides for procedures to be followed in appointing a hearing officer
for removal and disciplinary action against certain public employees,
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
This bill amends Subdivision 2 of Section 75 of the Civil Service Law to
provide that disciplinary hearings against individual employees under
the Civil Service Law to provide that disciplinary.hearing against indi-
vidual employees under the civil service law shall he held by a hearing
officer who is a member of the American Arbitration Association,
selected by the mutual agreement of the parties involved. The decision
of the hearing officer will be required to be implemented by the employ-
er. In addition, this legislation provides that such employees may be
suspended with pay during such disciplinary action.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):
Amended to provide that the provisions of the bill shall not supersede
or apply to a hearing officer policy which was established as a result
of a collective bargaining agreement.
JUSTIFICATION:
The purpose of this bill is to ensure an impartial and fair due process
hearing for permanent employees retained under the Civil Service Law and
who are the subject of disciplinary charges. In addition, this bill
seeks to protect civil service employees from being suspended without
pay during such process.Under the present provisions of Section 75 of
the Civil Service Law, individuals who have attained permanent appoint-
ment as employees under the jurisdiction of the Civil Service Law may be
removed from their positions or have other disciplinary actions taken
(i.e., suspension without pay, demotion from grade and title) after a
hearing held before the officer or body who has brought the charges. The
employing officer or body therefore becomes both the prosecutor and the
judge of the permanent employees actions.This bill would provide a more
fair procedure in which the hearing is before an impartial arbitrator
selected upon mutual agreement of the parties, if no agreement can be
reached, then selected under the rules of the American Arbitration Asso-
ciation. The hearing officer would hear the case and determine the
appropriate penalty, if any. Such a system would give both the employer
and the employee a fair opportunity to present their respective sides of
the case and allow for impartial adju- dication. In addition, by
protecting civil service employees from being suspended without pay
during such procedures, this bill conforms disciplinary hearing proce-
dures brought against tenured teachers pursuant to Section 3020-a of the
Education Law, thus ensuring the same due process for civil service
employees.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
