S7075-2011 - NY Senate Open Legislation - Provides a procedure for determining suspensions and demotions of members of police agencies upon abolition or reduction of positions

Provides a procedure for determining suspensions and demotions of members of police agencies upon abolition or reduction of positions.

Sponsor: GOLDEN / Co-sponsor(s): MARTINS / Committee: RULES
Law Section: Civil Service Law / Law: Amd S80, Civ Serv L

S7075-2011 Actions

Jun 21, 2012: COMMITTED TO RULES
Jun 6, 2012: ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
Jun 5, 2012: 2ND REPORT CAL.
Jun 4, 2012: 1ST REPORT CAL.1009
Apr 27, 2012: REFERRED TO CIVIL SERVICE AND PENSIONS

S7075-2011 Meetings

Civil Service and Pensions: Jun 4, 2012

S7075-2011 Calendars

Floor Calendar: Jun 5, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 6, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 11, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 12, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 13, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 14, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 18, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 19, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 20, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 21, 2012

S7075-2011 Votes

VOTE: COMMITTEE VOTE: - Civil Service and Pensions - Jun 4, 2012

Ayes (10): Golden, Fuschillo, Lanza, Martins, O'Mara, Perkins, Addabbo, Dilan, Savino, Serrano
Ayes W/R (2): Hannon, Little

S7075-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S7075

TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the civil service law, in relation to the calculation of
seniority for purposes of layoffs or demotions

PURPOSE:
The purpose of this proposed Bill is to amend � 80 of the New York State
Civil Service Law which pertains to suspension or demotion upon the
abolition or reduction of positions in the Civil Service as it applies
to any members of any police agency in the State other than those police
agencies already dealt with by �� 1-a through 1-d of � 80.  Specif-
ically, this amendment seeks to base demotions and/or reductions in
force on time in grade or title as opposed to time in the classified
service. This amendment would address a longstanding problem in the
police community, as witnessed by the fact that 4 police agencies (the
City of Buffalo Police and Fire Departments, employees of secure
detention facilities in the State of New York, sworn employees of the
Monroe County Sheriff's Department, and the Nassau County Police Depart-
ment) have already obtained passage of existing subdivisions 1-a through
1-d changing the measure from time in the classified service to time in
grade or title.

JUSTIFICATION:
Under the current law, suspensions or demotions in the Civil Service
upon the abolition or reduction of positions must be made based upon
seniority, with demotions or reductions in force to be made in "inverse
order of original appointment on a permanent basis in the classified
service" (CSL, � 80, � 1). The spirit of the law is to safeguard the
employment of those employees with the most time in the system, with the
general principle being "last in - first out". In the uniformed
services, this law can have a reverse effect essentially retaining
employees with shorter tenures in the civil service rank while demoting
those with longer tenures in rank. For example, a police officer with
ten years in rank as a Sergeant would have to be demoted before a police
officer with 1 year in rank as a Sergeant if the latter had more time in
the classified service. As mentioned above, several uniformed services
operations have recognized this inequity and obtained individual legis-
lative amendments to � 80 of the New York Civil Service Law requiring
said demotions and reductions to be made by "inverse order of original
appointment on a permanent basis in the grade or title". We believe that
this is the preferred and equitable method to handle these issues within
the context of the police community and that it should be adopted state-
wide, which this bill would do.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
This Bill would add a new subsection 1-e to �80 of the New York State
Civil Service Law to provide that in any police agency in the State of
New York other than those already dealt with in subsections 1-a through
1-d of � 80, demotions or reductions in staff upon the abolition or
reduction of positions would be made in inverse order of original

appointment on a permanent basis in the grade or title in the service of
the governmental jurisdiction in which such abolition or reduction of
position occurs.

FISCAL IMPACT:
None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.

S7075-2011 Text

 S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 
                                          7075
 I N  SENATE
 April 27, 2012
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  GOLDEN -- 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 the calculation of
 seniority for purposes of layoffs or demotions
 THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

Section  1.

Section 80 of the civil service law is amended by adding a
 new subdivision 1-e to read as follows:

 1-E.  NOTWITHSTANDING  THE  PROVISIONS  OF  SUBDIVISION  ONE  OF  THIS
 SECTION,  THE  SWORN  MEMBERS OF ANY POLICE AGENCY AS DEFINED IN SECTION
 EIGHT HUNDRED THIRTY-FIVE OF THE EXECUTIVE LAW, OTHER THAN POLICE  AGEN
 CIES  REFERRED  TO  IN  SUBDIVISIONS ONE-A THROUGH ONE-D OF THIS SECTION
 SHALL BE SUBJECT TO THE FOLLOWING PROCEDURE. WHERE, BECAUSE OF  ECONOMY,
 CONSOLIDATION  OR  ABOLITION  OF FUNCTIONS, CURTAILMENT OF ACTIVITIES OR
 OTHERWISE, POSITIONS IN THE COMPETITIVE CLASS ARE ABOLISHED  OR  REDUCED
 IN  RANK  OR  SALARY  GRADE, SUSPENSION OR DEMOTION, AS THE CASE MAY BE,
 AMONG INCUMBENTS HOLDING THE SAME OR SIMILAR POSITIONS SHALL BE MADE  IN
 THE  INVERSE  ORDER  OF ORIGINAL APPOINTMENT ON A PERMANENT BASIS IN THE
 GRADE OR TITLE IN THE SERVICE OF THE GOVERNMENTAL JURISDICTION IN  WHICH
 SUCH  ABOLITION  OR  REDUCTION  OF  POSITIONS  OCCURS,  SUBJECT  TO  THE
 PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISION SEVEN OF SECTION EIGHTY-FIVE OF THIS  CHAPTER;
 PROVIDED,  HOWEVER,  THAT  THE  DATE OF ORIGINAL APPOINTMENT OF ANY SUCH
 INCUMBENT WHO WAS TRANSFERRED TO  SUCH  GOVERNMENTAL  JURISDICTION  FROM
 ANOTHER  GOVERNMENTAL  JURISDICTION UPON THE TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS SHALL
 BE THE DATE OF ORIGINAL APPOINTMENT ON A PERMANENT BASIS IN THE  CLASSI
 FIED  SERVICE IN THE SERVICE OF THE GOVERNMENTAL JURISDICTION FROM WHICH
 SUCH TRANSFER WAS MADE.
 NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SUBDIVISION, HOWEVER, UPON  THE
 ABOLITION OR REDUCTION OF POSITIONS IN THE COMPETITIVE CLASS, INCUMBENTS
 HOLDING  THE  SAME  OR  SIMILAR  POSITIONS  WHO HAVE NOT COMPLETED THEIR
 PROBATIONARY SERVICES SHALL BE SUSPENDED OR DEMOTED, AS THE CASE MAY BE,
 BEFORE ANY PERMANENT INCUMBENTS, AND AMONG SUCH  PROBATIONARY  EMPLOYEES
 THE  ORDER  OF  SUSPENSION  OR  DEMOTION  SHALL BE DETERMINED AS IF SUCH
 EMPLOYEES WERE PERMANENT INCUMBENTS.
 

S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD15339-01-2

S7075-2011: Provides a procedure for determining suspensions and demotions of members of police agencies upon abolition or reduction of positions