Bill Text: NY S07289 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to independent hearing officers for disciplinary hearings involving any paid officer or member of an organized fire company or fire department of a city of less than one million population, or town, village or fire district.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-04-12 - REFERRED TO CIVIL SERVICE AND PENSIONS [S07289 Detail]

Download: New_York-2015-S07289-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          7289
                    IN SENATE
                                     April 12, 2016
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  ROBACH -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
        AN ACT to amend the civil service law, in relation to independent  hear-
          ing officers for certain disciplinary hearings
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Section 75 of the civil service law is amended by adding  a
     2  new subdivision 2-a to read as follows:
     3    2-a.  Independent  hearing  officer.  (a)  Notwithstanding  any  other
     4  provision of law to the contrary, any  paid  officer  or  member  of  an
     5  organized  fire  company  or  fire department of a city of less than one
     6  million population, or town, village or fire district who is represented
     7  by a certified or recognized employee organization pursuant  to  article
     8  fourteen  of  this  chapter  shall  not  be  subjected to the penalty of
     9  dismissal from service if  the  hearing,  upon  such  charge,  has  been
    10  conducted  by  someone  other  than an independent hearing officer to be
    11  agreed to by the employer  and  the  person  against  whom  disciplinary
    12  action  is  proposed.  If the parties are unable to agree upon a hearing
    13  officer, he or she shall be selected from a list of seven  names  to  be
    14  provided by the public employment relations board. The public employment
    15  relations  board  shall  maintain a list of independent hearing officers
    16  for this purpose. The parties shall select the hearing officer by alter-
    17  nately striking names from the list of seven. The hearing officer  shall
    18  be vested with all powers of the appointing authority, shall conduct and
    19  make  a  record  of the hearing, and shall render a final decision.  The
    20  cost incurred in obtaining such independent  hearing  officer  shall  be
    21  divided  equally between the parties; provided that as may be determined
    22  upon the circumstances of the case, the hearing officer shall be author-
    23  ized to allocate such cost on the basis of the frivolous nature  of  any
    24  claim  made  or  any  defense  interposed.  In  order to find a claim or
    25  defense to be frivolous, the hearing officer must find at least  one  of
    26  the following:
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13882-02-6