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Employeeterminated after being found guilty of failing to follow proper procedure
Matter of Thomas v County of Rockland, Dept. of Hosps., 55 AD3d 745
A registered nurse at the Summit Park Hospital of the Rockland CountyDepartment of Hospitals was served with disciplinary charges allegingmisconduct in that she failed to follow proper procedures and she failed toreport her alleged error concerning the event.
The hearing officer found the Nurse guilty of all of the charges filed againsther and recommended that she be terminated. The Department adopted the findingsand recommendation of the hearing officer and dismissed Thomas from herposition.
Dismissing the nurse’s appeal, the Appellate Division said that:
1. "The review of administrative determinations in employee disciplinarycases made as a result of a hearing required by Civil Service Law §75 islimited to a consideration of whether the determination is supported bysubstantial evidence."
2. "Moreover, it is the function of the administrative agency or theHearing Officer, not the reviewing court, to weigh the evidence or assess thecredibility of witnesses and determine which testimony to accept and which toreject."
3. "An administrative penalty must be upheld unless it is sodisproportionate 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 the nurse was guiltyof misconduct by failing to properly utilize a defibrillator machine during a"code blue," and then did not report her error, is supported bysubstantial evidence.
Citing Pell v Board of Education, 34 NY2d at 240, the court said that “itcannot 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
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