Alphonso Purse served as a safety officer for the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) before he entered a rehabilitation program for alcohol abuse.
When Purse completed the program he informed his supervisor that he couldn't report back to work for fifteen days due to a leg injury. Soon thereafter, the OMH sent Purse a letter informing him his absence was unauthorized and he would be terminated unless an appropriate explanation was provided.
Although the OMH was aware he had communicated with his supervisor, Purse failed to provide "medical documentation." When he contended he never received the letter, the OMH administrator informed him of its content and, in response, he submitted documentation from the Queens-Long Island Medical Group and a physician which opined Purse suffered from "osteoarthritis" and needed to rest for 15 days.
Notwithstanding that information, the OMH removed Purse from its payroll.
When Purse filed a complaint with the New York State Division of Human Rights (SDHR), that agency determined "probable cause existed to believe that [ OMH ] had engaged in [an] unlawful discriminatory practice," and, after a hearing, an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) awarded Purse $5,000 but denied back pay. After an administrative review, the SDHR granted him $387,750 in back pay.
When the OMH filed a special proceeding with the Albany County Supreme Court, the case was transferred to the Appellate Division, Third Department.
While the AD3 agreed OMH engaged in "unlawful discrimination," it disagreed with the SDHR 's back-pay award. (Back pay serves to "make a person whole and redress the economic injury that has resulted from unlawful employment discrimination." )
Since Purse's loss in salary was due to his disability and not from unlawful discrimination, and because he began receiving payments for his disability on the same day he was terminated, the AD3 was of the opinion he didn't suffer any economic harm due to OMH 's misconduct.
No fat wallet for this Purse!
To download a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: Matter of New York State Off. of Mental Health v. New York State Div. of Human Rights