New York Law Blog

Some retired New York state educators were using a loophole in the law to collect a paycheck for returning to fill holes in the employment roster as well as receiving their pensions. The governor of the state has said no more and on Friday will be signing a bill that will close up the ability to partake in such a practice. Wanting those who have experience to fill the employment openings has lead to a gross overexpendature.

The new law requires school districts and public agencies to wait a year before hiring a retired worker into the same or similar position. Previously, there was no waiting period, although some New York City agencies like the Administration for Children’s Services had adopted a one-year waiting period on their own. In addition, school districts and agencies will now be required to show more extensive documentation that they tried to recruit nonretirees for the positions.

State Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, whose investigations into pension fraud in school districts led to the new law, said school superintendents and others had routinely abused the pension system this way. “This was a great game of taxpayer abuse for many years,” he said in a telephone interview on Tuesday, “and if you follow the money, you end up at the state pension fund.”

The new law has some educators concerned that they may have an even tougher time hiring competent talent to fill empty positions. Robert Lowry, the deputy director of the New York State Council of School Superintendents had these suggestions on how to make the law work best for everyone:

Mr. Lowry said school districts often have little choice but to hire retirees, and can even save money because they do not have to make pension contributions for retirees, and may not have to pay health benefits, either. He suggested a narrower approach, such as applying the one-year waiting period only to a retiree’s last district, limiting interim appointments to one year and requiring school districts to show that hiring a retiree saved money.

The federal government is preparing to pass a law making it legal to auction off flight slots at New York City’s three big airports: La Guardia, Kennedy International and Newark Liberty. The Department of Transportation wants to reduce air traffic congestion by eliminating some of the slots and then auctioning the rest off to airlines. The DoT believes that auctions of the sort could raise roughly $150 million to fund runway expansions and other needed airport upgrades. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, who is in charge of the three airports, and a few lawmakers vehemently disagreed with the plan.

“Who’s got money to buy slots? The finance markets are closed,” said William R. DeCota, the authority’s director of aviation. “They keep saying an auction stimulates competition. I have more direct flights to more airports than anywhere in the world.”

Mr. DeCota added that if airlines that do not already fly into New York bought some of the auctioned slots, there are questions about where the new arrivals would park their planes since all of the existing terminals are leased to other airlines.

“It is simply shocking that the D.O.T. is unabashedly continuing this ideological battle despite the staunch opposition from the entire aviation community and the independent finding that the D.O.T. lacks the power under the law to implement the proposal in the first place,” Senator Charles E. Schumer said in a statement.

The Port Authority has said it will seek an injunction from the United State Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia to block the auctions if need be.

An article run today on Nurse.com speaks of the new New York state law prohibiting hospitals from enforcing mandatory overtime of nurses. Starting July 1, 2009, nurses now have the right to say no to forced overtime and be protected from doing so by law. However there are a few exceptions to the law:

A nurse may be required to work overtime in the case of a healthcare disaster (such as a natural catastrophe), government-declared state of emergency, or if he or she is in the middle of an ongoing medical or surgical procedure. "[These are] all prudent measures because they are in the interest of patient safety," says [co-chairwoman of the Public Policy Committee Pat] Hogan. The final exception is an "emergency" situation — as determined by the employer. What may be considered an "emergency" is well-defined. It must be unanticipated and cannot occur on a regular basis. The statute specifically requires a good-faith effort first to have the shift covered by a per diem, agency nurse, or assigned float, or by requesting that an off-duty employee work an additional day, before requiring the nurse on duty to remain.

The new law aims to restore balance to a field that is shrinking in numbers while the need expands. Forcing nurses to work overtime leads to mistakes, medical malpractice, etc. Now nurses have a safeguard against being forced to put in too many hours, and allowing them to lead a better quality of life.

[T]he new law has been applauded as a positive step for patients and nurses. In addition to promoting patient safety, it protects nurses. Because it is part of NYS’s labor laws, the new law will come under Section 213, which provides prosecution for those who violate it. "Nobody should have to fear saying no to last-minute mandatory overtime and choose between the job and getting his or her child off the bus," says Hogan. "If this is going to fix those issues, then it’s a good thing and the time and effort to accomplish it well spent."