Collin Caesar Jersey City, CSC Docket No. 2020-1768
NJ Civil Service Commission decision of February 16, 2022, CSC Docket No. 2020-1768: discipline, penalty modified. Collin Caesar, Fire Fighter, Jersey City, Department of Public Safety, fine equal to a nine working day suspension, on charges of conduct unbecoming a public employee, neglect of duty a
Commission decisions · Meeting of February 16, 2022
Collin Caesar, Fire Fighter, Jersey City, Department of Public Safety, fine equal to a nine working day suspension, on charges of conduct unbecoming a public employee, neglect of duty and other sufficient cause.
- Matter
- Discipline
- Decided
- February 16, 2022, item A-3
- Outcome
- Penalty modified
- ALJ's recommendation
- Modify the fine equal to a nine working day suspension to a fine equal to a three working day suspension.
- What the Commission did with it
- Adopted the ALJ's recommendation
- Penalty appealed
- 9 working day suspension
- Title
- FIRE FIGHTER
- Employer
- Jersey City
- Chair at the time
- Deirdre L. Webster Cobb, Chairperson
- Official decision
- Published by CSC in its monthly archive bundle (A003 CAESAR COLLIN.pdf)
Action recorded in the minutes: The Civil Service Commission affirmed the recommendation of the Administrative Law Judge.
Rules this decision applies
The decision
CSC published this decision as a scanned image. The text below was recognized by OCR, read twice and checked against the meeting minutes, but OCR can misread a word. The official document is the record.
BackgroundThe appeal of Collin Caesar, Fire Fighter, Jersey City, Department of Public Safety, fine equal to a nine working day suspension, on charges, was heard by Administrative Law Judge Kelly J. Kirk (ALJ), who rendered her initial decision on January 20, 2022. No exceptions were filed.
AnalysisHaving considered the record and the Administrative Law Judge’s initial decision, and having made an independent evaluation of the record, the Civil Service Commission (Commission), at its meeting on February 16, 2022, accepted and adopted the Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law as contained in the attached Administrative Law Judge’s initial decision and her recommendation to modify the fine equal to a nine working day suspension to a fine equal to a three working day suspension.
Since the penalty has been modified, assuming the original fine was imposed, the appellant is entitled to reimbursement of the fine equivalent to six working days pursuant to N..J.A.C. 4A:2-2.10. However, the appellant is not entitled to counsel fees. Pursuant to N.J.A.C. 4A:2-2.12(a), the award of counsel fees is appropriate only where an employee has prevailed on all or substantially all of the primary issues in an appeal of a major disciplinary action. The primary issue in any disciplinary appeal is the merits of the charges, not whether the penalty imposed was appropriate. See Johnny Walcott v. City of Plainfield, 282 N.J. Super. 121, 128 (App. Div. 1995); James L, Smith v. Department of Personnel, Docket No. A-1489- 02T2 (App. Div. March 18, 2004); In the Matter of Robert Dean (MSB, decided January 12, 1993); In the Matter of Ralph Cozzino (MSB, decided September 21, 1989). In the case at hand, although the penalty was modified by the Commission, charges were sustained, and discipline was imposed. Thus, the appellant has not prevailed on all or substantially all of the primary issues of the appeal. Consequently, as the appellant has failed to meet the standard set forth at N.J.A.C. 4A:2-2.12(a), counsel fees must be denied.
ORDER
The Civil Service Commission finds that the action of the appointing authority in disciplining the appellant was justified. The Commission therefore modifies the fine equal to a nine working day suspension to a fine equal to a three working day suspension. The Commission further orders that appellant the appellant is entitled to reimbursement of the fine equivalent to six working days.
Counsel fees are denied pursuant to N.J.A.C. 4A:2-2.12.
ClosingThis is the final administrative determination in this matter. Any further review should be pursued in a judicial forum.
Decisions this one cites
- Johnny Walcott v. City of Plainfield 282 N.J. Super. 121, 128
- In the Matter of Robert Dean (January 12, 1993)
- In the Matter of Ralph Cozzino (September 21, 1989)
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