THE MEANING OF ‘SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE’ SUFFICIENT TO SUPPORT A DETERMINATION IN AN ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING EXPLAINED (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department, in confirming the Commissioner of Public Safety’s termination of General Municipal Law 207-a benefits for an injured firefighter, explained what the term “substantial evidence” means in the context of an administrative hearing:
… [A]fter an examination, the respondents’ medical examiner found that the petitioner was capable of returning to light duty and that there would be a “medium to moderate” chance that he would be able to resume full duty if he underwent spinal fusion surgery. Thereafter, the respondents’ fire chief sent the petitioner a letter ordering him to return to work … , to assume a light duty position, or risk losing his benefits. A second letter … directed the petitioner to schedule the fusion surgery. The petitioner did not return to work … , and did not undergo surgery, choosing instead to proceed with a challenge of the return to work order.
After a hearing, the hearing officer concluded that the fire chief’s orders were “reasonable and rational,” and that the petitioner’s failure to comply with those orders was without justification. The respondents adopted the recommendations of the hearing officer. The petitioner commenced this CPLR article 78 proceeding to review the determination.
The petitioner argues that the respondents’ determination is not supported by substantial evidence. We disagree. “Substantial evidence means more than a mere scintilla of evidence and the test of whether substantial evidence exists in a record is one of rationality, taking into account all the evidence on both sides”… . Matter of Sestito v City of White Plains, 2018 NY Slip Op 03528, Second Dept 5-16-18
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW (EVIDENCE, THE MEANING OF ‘SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE’ SUFFICIENT TO SUPPORT A DETERMINATION IN AN ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING EXPLAINED (SECOND DEPT))/EVIDENCE (ADMINISTRATIVE LAW, THE MEANING OF ‘SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE’ SUFFICIENT TO SUPPORT A DETERMINATION IN AN ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING EXPLAINED (SECOND DEPT))/SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE (ADMINISTRATIVE LAW, THE MEANING OF ‘SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE’ SUFFICIENT TO SUPPORT A DETERMINATION IN AN ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING EXPLAINED (SECOND DEPT)