The Administrative Judicial Institute at OATH (AJI) supports the City’s administrative judiciary by providing professional practice seminars and contributing to best practices for administrative law judges through research and development and partnerships with regional, statewide and national administrative justice agencies.

Pre-qualified vendor appeals heard at OATH.

Although competitive bidding is the preferred method of source selection for City contracts, City rules permit an agency to prequalify suppliers where the Agency Chief Contracting Officer (“ACCO”) has determined that the need for advanced screening outweighs the benefits of broader competition.  Examples include situations where it is essential that only highly competent and experienced vendors be invited to bid or where high volume or repetitive procurements necessitate reduction in delays in the award of contracts.

BP fined $20,000 for accepting foreign travel expenses for his wife. 

The Conflicts of Interest Board (“COIB” or “Board”) adopted ALJ Kevin F. Casey’s finding that the Brooklyn Borough President violated the City Conflicts law when he accepted payments from two foreign governments and a not-for-profit organization to cover travel costs for his wife when she accompanied him on two trips to Turkey and one trip to the Netherlands.  Conflicts of Interest Bd. v. Markowitz (in PDF), OATH Index No. 1400/11 (May 5, 2011), adopted, Bd. Dec. (July 21, 2011).

GPS data used to prove taxicab overcharges.

A taxicab driver was charged with improperly charging passengers with the higher out-of-town rate (rate 4) during in-city trips on 90 occasions over a ten-month period. ALJ Casey rejected the driver’s claim that the Commission obtained the GPS evidence used against him in violation of the state constitution.  ALJ Casey ruled that the taxi driver did not have a legitimate expectation of privacy in information generated with GPS technology concerning use of his taxi while on-duty.  He found that petitioner proved the charges and he recommended the driver’s license be revoked and an $850 fine be imposed.   Taxi & Limousine Comm’n v. Carniol (in PDF), OATH Index No. 1736/11 (June 24, 2011).

Firefighter with PTSD tested positive for cocaine.

The Fire Department sought to terminate from employment a firefighter who tested positive for cocaine during a random drug test. The firefighter admitted that he had tested positive but argued that he is disabled and he sought an opportunity to file for disability benefits. Respondent suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder due to the events of September 11, 2001, and his condition caused him to abuse alcohol and cocaine. In addition, respondent sustained a line-of-duty shoulder injury after he was returned to duty following the positive test.  Fire Dep’t v. Sicignano (in PDF), OATH Index No. 801/11 (June 30, 2011).