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Employee terminated after being found guilty of failing to follow proper procedure

Employee terminated after being found guilty of failing to follow proper procedure
Matter of Thomas v County of Rockland, Dept. of Hosps., 2008 NY Slip Op 07924, Decided on October 14, 200, Appellate Division, Second Department

Annamma Thomas was employed as a registered nurse at the Summit Park Hospital of the Rockland County Department of Hospitals. Following an incident that resulted in the death of a patent, the Department served Thomas with disciplinary charges alleging misconduct in that she failed to follow proper procedures and she failed to report her alleged error concerning the event.

The hearing officer found Thomas guilty of all of the charges filed against her and recommended that she be terminated. The Department adopted the findings and recommendation of the hearing officer and dismissed Thomas from her position.

Dismissing Thomas? appeal, the Appellate Division said that:

1. "The review of administrative determinations in employee disciplinary cases made as a result of a hearing required by Civil Service Law §75 is limited to a consideration of whether the determination is supported by substantial evidence."

2. "Moreover, it is the function of the administrative agency or the Hearing Officer, not the reviewing court, to weigh the evidence or assess the credibility of witnesses and determine which testimony to accept and which to reject."

3. "An administrative penalty must be upheld unless it is so disproportionate to the offense as to be shocking to one's sense of fairness,' thus constituting an abuse of discretion as a matter of law?."

In this instance, said the court, the determination that Thomas, a nurse, was guilty of misconduct by failing to properly utilize a defibrillator machine during a "code blue," and then did not report her error, is supported by substantial evidence.

Citing Pell v Board of Education, 34 NY2d at 240, the court said that ?it cannot be concluded, ?as a matter of law, that the penalty of [termination] shocks the judicial conscience.??

The full text of the decision is posted on the Internet at:
http://www.courts.state.ny.us/reporter/3dseries/2008/2008_07924.htm

Full post as published by New York Public Personnel Law on October 24, 2008 (boomark / email).