You are here: / / DEPUTY SHERIFF WAS COERCED INTO RESIGNING WITHOUT A HEARING, SHERIFF SHOULD...
,

DEPUTY SHERIFF WAS COERCED INTO RESIGNING WITHOUT A HEARING, SHERIFF SHOULD HAVE ALLOWED DEPUTY TO WITHDRAW HIS RESIGNATION (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department determined Supreme Court properly found that the sheriff abused his discretion when he refused to allow petitioner, a deputy sheriff, to withdraw his resignation. The deputy resigned after the sheriff told him he would be fired if he didn’t resign:

​

It is well settled that ” [a] resignation under coercion or duress is not a voluntary act and may be nullified’ ” … . Although a threat to terminate an employee does not constitute duress if the person making the threat has the legal right to terminate the employee … , such a threat does constitute duress if it is wrongful and precludes the exercise of free will … . It follows that a resignation obtained under the threat of wrongful termination is involuntary and may be withdrawn upon request, and that it is an abuse of discretion for an officer to deny such a request … .

Here, petitioner tendered his resignation under the threat of wrongful termination, and we therefore conclude that the Sheriff abused his discretion in refusing to allow petitioner to withdraw the resignation. Civil Service Law § 75 provides that a public employer may not terminate or otherwise discipline certain public employees “except for incompetency or misconduct shown after a hearing upon stated charges” … . A covered employee “against whom removal or other disciplinary action is proposed shall have written notice thereof and of the reasons therefor, shall be furnished a copy of the charges preferred against him and shall be allowed at least eight days for answering the same in writing” … . Thereafter, a hearing must be held … . There is no dispute that petitioner was covered by the statute and that he was not provided with the requisite predisciplinary hearing. Thus, the Sheriff had no legal right to terminate him.  Matter of Ortlieb v Lewis County Sheriff’s Dept., 2017 NY Slip Op 08115, Fourth Dept 11-17-17

 

MUNICIPAL LAW (EMPLOYMENT LAW, CIVIL SERVICE LAW, DEPUTY SHERIFF WAS COERCED INTO RESIGNING WITHOUT A HEARING, SHERIFF SHOULD HAVE ALLOWED DEPUTY TO WITHDRAW HIS RESIGNATION (FOURTH DEPT))/EMPLOYMENT LAW (MUNICIPAL LAW, CIVIL SERVICE LAW,  DEPUTY SHERIFF WAS COERCED INTO RESIGNING WITHOUT A HEARING, SHERIFF SHOULD HAVE ALLOWED DEPUTY TO WITHDRAW HIS RESIGNATION (FOURTH DEPT))/CIVIL SERVICE LAW (EMPLOYMENT LAW,  DEPUTY SHERIFF WAS COERCED INTO RESIGNING WITHOUT A HEARING, SHERIFF SHOULD HAVE ALLOWED DEPUTY TO WITHDRAW HIS RESIGNATION (FOURTH DEPT))

You might also like
County Must Seek a Medical Income Execution Order (to Pay for a Child’s Health Insurance) Where No Medical Income Execution Order Has Yet Been Issued in the Case
THE JURY SHOULD HAVE BEEN INSTRUCTED TO CONSIDER THE INCLUSORY CONCURRENT COUNT (MURDER SECOND) AND THE TOP COUNT (MURDER FIRST) IN THE ALTERNATIVE; THE ERROR NEED NOT BE PRESERVED FOR APPEAL (FOURTH DEPT).
FALSE ARREST AND MALICIOUS PROSECUTION ACTIONS AGAINST THE RESTAURANT FRANCHISOR PROPERLY DISMISSED IN THE ABSENCE OF EVIDENCE OF CONTROL OVER THE DAY TO DAY OPERATION OF THE RESTAURANT (FOURTH DEPT).
PLAINTIFF IN THIS TRAFFIC ACCIDENT CASE RAISED QUESTIONS OF FACT ABOUT WHETHER THE RELEASE HE SIGNED WAS INVALID DUE TO MUTUAL MISTAKE ABOUT THE EXISTENCE OF LUMBAR DISC INJURIES AND LEFT HIP DEGENERATIVE JOINT DISEASE; IN ADDITION, PLAINTIFF RAISED QUESTIONS OF FACT ABOUT WHETHER THE RELEASE WAS INVALID BECAUSE IT WAS “NOT FAIRLY AND KNOWINGLY MADE;” CRITERIA EXPLAINED (FOURTH DEPT).
HERE THE WRITTEN LOGGING CONTRACT WAS COMPLETE AND UNAMBIGUOUS; EVIDENCE OF AN ALLEGED ADDITIONAL ORAL AGREEMENT WAS PRECLUDED BY THE PAROL EVIDENCE RULE (FOURTH DEPT).
THE DEFENSE ATTORNEY HAD BEGUN WORKING FOR THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE AT THE TIME DEFENDANT ENTERED HIS PLEA; DEFENDANT WAS THEREBY DEPRIVED OF HIS RIGHT TO COUNSEL; PLEA VACATED (FOURTH DEPT).
Party Represented by Counsel at a Scheduled Court Appearance Has Not Failed to Appear
DEFENDANT TOLD THE POLICE HE DIDN’T WANT TO TALK, HIS STATEMENT SHOULD HAVE BEEN SUPPRESSED BUT THE ERROR WAS HARMLESS; CONSECUTIVE SENTENCES FOR POSSESSION OF THE KNIFE AND MURDER BY STABBING FOUND PROPER (FOURTH DEPT).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON THE LABOR LAW 240 (1) CAUSE... QUESTIONS OF FACT WHETHER PLAINTIFF’S SON’S INVOLVEMENT IN A DRAG...