Stanziale v. Executive Dept., Office of General Services

• Decision Date: 24 November 1981
• Citation: 431 N.E.2d 635,447 N.Y.S.2d 150,55 N.Y.2d 735
• Parties: , 431 N.E.2d 635 In the Matter of John STANZIALE, Appellant, v. EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES, et al., Respondents.
• Court: New York Court of Appeals Court of Appeals

Page 150

447 N.Y.S.2d 150

55 N.Y.2d 735, 431 N.E.2d 635

In the Matter of John STANZIALE, Appellant, v. EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES, et al., Respondents.

Court of Appeals of New York.

Nov. 24, 1981.

Henry Stanziale, Brooklyn, for appellant.

Robert Abrams, Atty. Gen. (George D. Zuckerman and George C. Mantzoros, Asst. Attys. Gen., of counsel), for respondents.

OPINION OF THE COURT MEMORANDUM.

The order of the Appellate Division, 77 A.D.2d 600, 429 N.Y.S.2d 919 should be affirmed, with costs.

There is no dispute but that petitioner was a nontenured employee of the Office of General Services at the time of his termination. Because of his nontenured status, in the absence of petitioner's demonstration that the termination was for constitutionally impermissible reasons or prohibited by statute or policies established by decisional law, OGS was free to effect the termination without reasons and without a hearing (Matter of Holbrook v. State Ins. Fund, 54 N.Y.2d 892, 444 N.Y.S.2d 913, 429 N.E.2d 420; James v. Board of Educ., 37 N.Y.2d 891, 892, 378 N.Y.S.2d 371, 340 N.E.2d 735). Our review of the record here reveals that such proscriptions were not violated.

Moreover, even if the reason OGS nevertheless elected to give for the termination in this case could be said to have been stigmatizing (see, generally, Board of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 92 S.Ct. 2701, 33 L.Ed.2d 548), any hearing to which the petitioner might be entitled under such circumstances was accorded him.

COOKE, C. J., and JASEN, GABRIELLI, JONES, WACHTLER, FUCHSBERG and MEYER, JJ., concur.

Order affirmed, with costs, in a memorandum.