Bill Text: NY A07624 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: 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.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-2)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-03-10 - print number 7624b [A07624 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A07624-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7624--B 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY May 14, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ABBATE, SIMON, SANTABARBARA, DeSTEFANO, DARLING, REYES, CRUZ, ASHBY, LENTOL, MOSLEY -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Employees -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit- tee -- recommitted to the Committee on Governmental Employees in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit- tee AN ACT to amend the civil service law, in relation to hearing procedures for certain public employees The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 75 of the civil service law, as 2 amended by chapter 226 of the laws of 1994, is amended and a new subdi- 3 vision 2-a is added to read as follows: 4 2. Procedure; New York city employees. [An] For any employee in the 5 service of the city of New York described in paragraph (a), (b), (c), 6 (d), or (e) of subdivision one of this section, if such employee [who] 7 at the time of questioning appears to be a potential subject of disci- 8 plinary action, he or she shall have a right to representation by his or 9 her certified or recognized employee organization under article fourteen 10 of this chapter and shall be notified in advance, in writing, of such 11 right. [A state employee who is designated managerial or confidential12under article fourteen of this chapter, shall, at the time of question-13ing, where it appears that such employee is a potential subject of14disciplinary action, have a right to representation and shall be noti-15fied in advance, in writing, of such right.] If representation is 16 requested a reasonable period of time shall be afforded to obtain such 17 representation. If the employee is unable to obtain representation with- 18 in a reasonable period of time the employer has the right to then ques- 19 tion the employee. A hearing officer under this section shall have the EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD11197-05-0A. 7624--B 2 1 power to find that a reasonable period of time was or was not afforded. 2 In the event the hearing officer finds that a reasonable period of time 3 was not afforded then any and all statements obtained from said ques- 4 tioning as well as any evidence or information obtained as a result of 5 said questioning shall be excluded, provided, however, that this subdi- 6 vision shall not modify or replace any written collective agreement 7 between a public employer and employee organization negotiated pursuant 8 to article fourteen of this chapter. A person against whom removal or 9 other disciplinary action is proposed shall have written notice thereof 10 and of the reasons therefor, shall be furnished a copy of the charges 11 preferred against him or her and shall be allowed at least eight days 12 for answering the same in writing. The hearing upon such charges shall 13 be held by the officer or body having the power to remove the person 14 against whom such charges are preferred, or by a deputy or other person 15 designated by such officer or body in writing for that purpose. In case 16 a deputy or other person is so designated, he or she shall, for the 17 purpose of such hearing, be vested with all the powers of such officer 18 or body and shall make a record of such hearing which shall, with his or 19 her recommendations, be referred to such officer or body for review and 20 decision. The person or persons holding such hearing shall, upon the 21 request of the person against whom charges are preferred, permit him or 22 her to be represented by counsel, or by a representative of a recognized 23 or certified employee organization, and shall allow him or her to summon 24 witnesses in his or her behalf. The burden of proving incompetency or 25 misconduct shall be upon the person alleging the same. Compliance with 26 technical rules of evidence shall not be required. 27 2-a. Procedure; non-New York city employees. For any employee 28 described in paragraph (a), (b), (c), or (e) of subdivision one of this 29 section not in the service of the city of New York, the following proce- 30 dure shall apply: An employee under this subdivision who at the time of 31 questioning appears to be a potential subject of disciplinary action 32 shall have a right to representation by his or her certified or recog- 33 nized employee organization under article fourteen of this chapter and 34 shall be notified in advance, in writing, of such right. A state employ- 35 ee who is designated managerial or confidential under article fourteen 36 of this chapter, shall, at the time of questioning, where it appears 37 that such employee is a potential subject of disciplinary action, have a 38 right to representation and shall be notified in advance, in writing, of 39 such right. If representation is requested a reasonable period of time 40 shall be afforded to obtain such representation. If the employee is 41 unable to obtain representation within a reasonable period of time the 42 employer has the right to then question the employee. A hearing officer 43 under this section shall have the power to find that a reasonable period 44 of time was or was not afforded. In the event the hearing officer finds 45 that a reasonable period of time was not afforded then any and all 46 statements obtained from said questioning as well as any evidence or 47 information obtained as a result of said questioning shall be excluded, 48 provided, however, that this subdivision shall not modify or replace any 49 written collective agreement between a public employer and employee 50 organization negotiated pursuant to article fourteen of this chapter. A 51 person against whom removal or other disciplinary action is proposed 52 shall have written notice thereof and of the reasons thereof, shall be 53 furnished a copy of the charges preferred against him or her and shall 54 be allowed at least eight days for answering the same in writing. The 55 hearing upon such charges shall be held by a hearing officer who shall 56 be a member of the American Arbitration Association, and such hearingA. 7624--B 3 1 officer shall be selected by the mutual agreement of the person against 2 whom disciplinary action is proposed and of the employing officer or 3 body. If such mutual agreement cannot be reached, then the hearing offi- 4 cer shall be selected pursuant to the rules of the American Arbitration 5 Association. Such hearing officer shall, for the purpose of such hear- 6 ing, be vested with all the powers of such officer or body and shall 7 make a record of such hearing which shall, with his or her recommenda- 8 tions and decision, be referred to such officer or body for implementa- 9 tion. The hearing officer holding such hearing shall, upon the request 10 of the person against whom charges are preferred, permit him or her to 11 be represented by counsel, or by a representative of a recognized or 12 certified employee organization, and shall allow him or her to summon 13 witnesses on his or her behalf. The burden of proving incompetency or 14 misconduct shall be upon the person alleging the same. Compliance with 15 technical rules of evidence shall not be required. The hearing officer 16 shall be paid a fee which is equivalent to the normal and customary fee 17 paid to him or her for services as an arbitrator under the auspices of 18 the American Arbitration Association. Provided, however, that the 19 provisions of this subdivision shall not supersede or apply to an exist- 20 ing hearing officer policy and procedure that is the result of a collec- 21 tive bargaining agreement between an employer and a recognized or certi- 22 fied employee organization which was in effect on the effective date of 23 this subdivision. 24 § 2. Subdivision 3 of section 75 of the civil service law, as amended 25 by chapter 710 of the laws of 1984, is amended to read as follows: 26 3. Suspension pending determination of charges; penalties; New York 27 city employees. [Pending] For any employee in the service of the city of 28 New York described in paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d), or (e) of subdi- 29 vision one of this section, pending the hearing and determination of 30 charges of incompetency or misconduct, the officer or employee against 31 whom such charges have been preferred may be suspended without pay for a 32 period not exceeding thirty days. If such officer or employee is found 33 guilty of the charges, the penalty or punishment may consist of a repri- 34 mand, a fine not to exceed one hundred dollars to be deducted from the 35 salary or wages of such officer or employee, suspension without pay for 36 a period not exceeding two months, demotion in grade and title, or 37 dismissal from the service; provided, however, that the time during 38 which an officer or employee is suspended without pay may be considered 39 as part of the penalty. If he or she is acquitted, he or she shall be 40 restored to his or her position with full pay for the period of suspen- 41 sion less the amount of any unemployment insurance benefits he or she 42 may have received during such period. If such officer or employee is 43 found guilty, a copy of the charges, his or her written answer thereto, 44 a transcript of the hearing, and the determination shall be filed in the 45 office of the department or agency in which he or she has been employed, 46 and a copy thereof shall be filed with the civil service commission 47 having jurisdiction over such position. A copy of the transcript of the 48 hearing shall, upon request of the officer or employee affected, be 49 furnished to him or her without charge. 50 § 3. Subdivision 3-a of section 75 of the civil service law, as added 51 by chapter 753 of the laws of 1990, is amended and a new subdivision 3-b 52 is added to read as follows: 53 3-a. Suspension pending determination of charges and penalties relat- 54 ing to police officers of the police department of the city of New York. 55 [Pending] Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision three of this 56 section, pending the hearing and determination of charges of incompeten-A. 7624--B 4 1 cy or misconduct, a police officer employed by the police department of 2 the city of New York may be suspended without pay for a period not 3 exceeding thirty days. If such officer is found guilty of the charges, 4 the police commissioner of such department may punish the police officer 5 pursuant to the provisions of sections 14-115 and 14-123 of the adminis- 6 trative code of the city of New York. 7 3-b. Suspension pending determination of charges; penalties; non-New 8 York city employees. For any employee described in paragraph (a), (b), 9 (c), or (e) of subdivision one of this section not in the service of 10 the city of New York, pending the hearing and determination of charges 11 of incompetency or misconduct, the officer or employee against whom such 12 charges have been preferred may be suspended for a period not exceeding 13 thirty days. The suspension shall be with pay, except the employee may 14 be suspended without pay if the employee has entered a guilty plea to or 15 has been convicted of a felony crime concerning the criminal sale or 16 possession of a controlled substance or a precursor of a controlled 17 substance. If such officer or employee is found guilty of the charges, 18 the penalty or punishment may consist of a reprimand, a fine not to 19 exceed one hundred dollars to be deducted from the salary or wages of 20 such officer or employee, suspension without pay for a period not 21 exceeding two months, demotion in grade and title, or dismissal from the 22 service; provided, however, that the time during which an officer or 23 employee is suspended without pay may be considered as part of the 24 penalty. If he or she is acquitted, he or she shall be restored to his 25 or her position. If such officer or employee is found guilty, a copy of 26 the charges, his or her written answer thereto, a transcript of the 27 hearing, and the determination shall be filed in the office of the 28 department or agency in which he or she has been employed, and a copy 29 thereof shall be filed with the civil service commission having juris- 30 diction over such position. A copy of the transcript of the hearing 31 shall, upon request of the officer or employee affected, be furnished to 32 him or her without charge. 33 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
