Civil Service Law
New York Civil Service Law Attorney
Our firm has represented civil servants in proceedings before State and federal courts and before administrative tribunals for more than six decades. We have represented individuals, groups, eligibles’ associations, and unions. The claims we have litigated include:
Disciplinary Cases: We have appeared at Section 75 disciplinary hearings (including numerous OATH hearings); hundreds of disciplinary arbitrations, and have handled scores of Article 78 proceedings. Unlike some attorneys who bring hopeless Article 78 proceedings, we provide our clients with a candid assessment of their chances before taking cases to litigation.
Disqualification: We have handled numerous appeals from disqualifications before the New York City Civil Service Commission, and–where appropriate–have brought Article 78 proceedings in the New York State courts or actions in federal court to contest improper disqualifications. The cases we have handled administratively and through litigation include medical disqualifications, psychological disqualifications, and disqualifications based on a candidate’s employment background, criminal record, or supposed lack of educational or employment experience. We have also handled numerous cases involving the rights of veterans, including veterans’ credit cases.
Pension Claims: We have represented clients before all of the New York City pension funds (e.g., NYCERS, the Police Pension Fund, the Fire Department Pension Fund, etc.), and have–in appropriate cases–commenced litigation to challenge arbitrary or unlawful pension fund determinations in Article 78 proceedings. As with all our civil service cases, we provide our clients with a candid assessment of their prospects before putting them through the time and expense of litigation. If a court challenge is hopeless, we will tell you that.
Discrimination claims: Civil servants face a array of forms of harassment and discrimination, and have available to them a variety of avenues for seeking redress. In addition to the forms of discrimination and harassment claims available to all employees (e.g. discrimination based on race, color, gender, age, religion, handicap or disability, national origin, etc.), civil servants often find themselves harassed or discriminated against for their protected activity in filing grievances, speaking out on matters of public concern, opposing unlawful practices, or filing litigation. We have filed numerous grievances, improper practice proceedings, and litigation challenging such actions. We have also appeared in numerous proceedings for civil servants before the New York City on Human Rights, the New York State Division of Human Rights, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the New York City Office of Collective Bargaining, and the New York State and federal courts. We assist our clients in determining whether their claims can be redressed short of litigation, and–where appropriate–pursue discrimination claims for civil servants vigorously before the appropriate forum.
We also assist civil service employees and employee organizations at grievances and arbitrations, and have handled contract negotiations and resulting impasse and Labor Law Section 220 proceedings for decades.
Contact A New York Civil Service Lawyer
If you are a New York or United States civil service employee, contact the law offices of Gordon, Gordon, & Schnapp for legal advice regarding your employment. We can be reached by telephone, fax, or by filling out the client intake form on this Web site.
