City of New York v. Commissioner of Labor

44 Misc. 3d 612, 991 N.Y.S.2d 832
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedJune 10, 2014
StatusPublished

This text of 44 Misc. 3d 612 (City of New York v. Commissioner of Labor) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of New York v. Commissioner of Labor, 44 Misc. 3d 612, 991 N.Y.S.2d 832 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2014).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Eileen A. Rakower, J.

Petitioner, the City of New York, brings this CPLR article 78 proceeding to vacate and annul the decision of the New York State Industrial Board of Appeals (IBA), docket Nos. PES 10-003, PES 10-004, PES 10-005, PES 10-016, PES 11-007, dated June 13, 2013, which upheld the Commissioner of Labor’s authority to issue citations for violations of certain city regulations promulgated to enforce the Workplace Violence Prevention Act (WVPA), codified at Labor Law § 27-b, via the Public Employee Safety and Health Act (PESHA), codified at Labor Law § 27-a. Petitioner claims that the IBA’s decision to uphold the challenged citations is arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law because the Department of Labor (DOL) exceeded the scope of its constitutional authority in promulgating and enforcing the rules that gave rise to the challenged citations, and because the regulations at issue improperly remove terms of employment associated with health and safety from collective bargaining.

The New York State Department of Labor, Public Employee Safety and Health Bureau (PESH), issued the citations in question against four public employers, the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR), the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), and the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) (collectively, the city agencies), for various violations of the workplace violence prevention program requirements articulated in 12 NYCRR 800.6, commonly known as Code Rule 800.6 “Public Employer Workplace Violence Prevention Programs.” Respondents, the Commissioner of Labor (the Commissioner), New York State Industrial Board of Appeals, and District [614]*614Council 37, AFSCME, AFL-CIO (collectively, respondents), oppose.

The Municipal Labor Committee (MLC) moves for leave to appear as amicus curiae, and joins respondents to respectfully request that the court uphold the IBA’s decision.

The court heard oral argument on petitioner’s petition (motion sequence No. 001) and entertained MLC’s motion for leave to appear as amicus curiae (motion sequence No. 002) on May 15, 2014.

On December 15, 2009, PESH conducted an inspection at the offices of the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, located at One Centre Street, New York, New York, 10007, in response to a complaint alleging that DCAS did not include union participation in the development of, or risk assessment for, the agency’s workplace violence prevention program. PESH issued a notice of violation (NOV), dated January 14, 2010, citing DCAS for four violations of PESH workplace violence prevention regulations, along with an investigation narrative, dated December 21, 2009.

Citation 1, item 1 on the DCAS NOV reads as follows:

“12 NYCRR 800.6(e)(1): The employer did not develop and implement a written policy statement on the employer’s workplace violence prevention program goals and objectives.
“a) NYCDCAS - The employer did not have a written policy statement.
“LOCATION ‘CITYWIDE.’ ”

Citation 1, item 2 on the DCAS NOV reads as follows:

“12 NYCRR 800.6(f)(3): The employer did not include the participation of authorized employee representatives, during the evaluation of the workplace to determine the presence of factors which may place employees at risk of workplace violence.
“a) NYCDCAS - The evaluation of the workplace was done without the participation of an authorized employee representative.
“LOCATION ‘CITYWIDE.’ ”

Citation 1, item 3 on the DCAS NOV reads as follows:

“12 NYCRR 800.6(g)(1): The employer with 20 or more full time permanent employees did not develop a written workplace violence prevention program with the participation of authorized employee repre[615]*615sentative(s).
“a) NYCDCAS - An authorized employee representative did not participate in the development of the employer’s workplace violence prevention program. “LOCATION ‘CITYWIDE.’ ”

Citation 1, item 4 on the DCAS NOV reads as follows:

“12 NYCRR 800.6(h)(1): The employer did not provide each employee with information and training on the risks of violence in their workplace or workplaces at least annually.
“a) NYCDCAS - The employer did not provide the employees with training on the risk of violence in their workplace.
“LOCATION ‘CITYWIDE.’ ”

The DCAS narrative further states, “Hazards alleged in the complaint are listed as follows: a) The Workplace Violence Program did not include union participation in its development or risk assessment.”

On December 16, 2009, PESH conducted an inspection at the offices of the Department of Parks and Recreation, located at The Arsenal West, 24 West 61st Street, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10023, in response to a complaint alleging that DPR did not meet deadlines for the workplace violence prevention regulation and did not include an authorized employee representative in its workplace violence prevention risk assessment and records review. PESH issued an NOV dated January 14, 2010, citing DPR for four violations of PESH workplace violence prevention regulations, along with an investigation narrative, dated December 28, 2009.

Citation 1, item 1 on the DPR NOV reads as follows:

“12 NYCRR 800.6(e)(1): The employer did not develop and implement a written policy statement on the employer’s workplace violence prevention program goals and objectives.
“a) NYCDP & R - The employer did not have a written policy statement.
“LOCATION ‘CITYWIDE.’ ”

Citation 1, item 2 on the DPR NOV reads as follows:

“12 NYCRR 800.6(f)(3): The employer did not include the participation of authorized employee representatives, during the evaluation of the workplace to determine the presence of factors which [616]*616may place employees at risk of workplace violence.
“a) NYCDP & R - The evaluation of the workplace was done without the participation of an authorized employee representative.
“LOCATION ‘CITYWIDE.’ ”

Citation 1, item 3 on the DPR NOV reads as follows:

“12 NYCRR 800.6(g)(1): The employer with 20 or more full time permanent employees did not develop a written workplace violence prevention program with the participation of authorized employee representative(s).
“a) NYCDP & R - An authorized employee representative did not participate in the development of the employer’s workplace violence prevention program.
“LOCATION ‘CITYWIDE.’ ”

Citation 1, item 4 on the DPR NOV reads as follows:

“12 NYCRR 800.6(h)(1): The employer did not provide each employee with information and training on the risks of violence in their workplace or workplaces at least annually.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
44 Misc. 3d 612, 991 N.Y.S.2d 832, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-new-york-v-commissioner-of-labor-nysupct-2014.