Court: Lose your professional credentials = Lose your job

By SHERRY HALBROOK
Are you one of the estimated 17,000 PEF members whose job requires you to be professionally licensed or certified?

Recent rulings by the state’s highest court make it more critically important than ever that you do not allow your professional credentials to lapse, even very briefly.

The state Court of Appeals has ruled by 5-2, the state can summarily terminate any employee who no longer has the professional credential required for their position. The employee’s termination is not subject to the due-process protections afforded under Article 33 of the PS&T contract.

PEF and the state used to arbitrate such cases under Article 33. However, in recent years, the state began claiming it could terminate such employees without providing Article 33 rights.

When the state terminated two PEF members who allowed their license and certification to lapse, PEF vigorously opposed this and was successful in a lower court.

Those favorable decisions have been overturned by the Court of Appeals based on its 2004 ruling in a case, not involving PEF, which held Civil Service Law Sections 75 and 76 don’t apply to terminations for loss of qualifications for employment. The court reasoned PS&T Article 33, was negotiated in lieu of those CSL procedures, therefore, Article 33 does not apply to such terminations.

“The court seems to suggest employees must, at least, be given prior notice of the intent to terminate their employment for the lack of the required credential and an opportunity to respond, not in a formal hearing, but in person or in writing,” said PEF General Counsel William Seamon.

“Some state agencies may move more swiftly than others in terminating an employee whose required certification or license lapses,” Seamon said.

“However, no employee should count on being given additional time to update their credentials. Nor will the union be able to defend them against termination.

“I strongly urge all PEF members whose jobs require professional credentials to review their status and take every necessary step to keep those credentials current at all times,” Seamon said.

Speed matters
If you are notified you are about to be terminated for lack of the required professional credential, immediately contact your PEF field representative who can help you verify if the credential is, in fact, a minimum qualification for your job and help you assess your options.

You could ask:
• Your agency for unpaid leave to get the credential restored;

• The state’s Career Mobility Office for help transferring to another state position that does not require the credential;

• Your agency to reinstate you if you are terminated, but have your credential restored within less than a year; or

• Both your agency and the state Civil Service Commission to reinstate you if you are terminated and it takes a year or longer to restore your credential. The state could refuse your requests.

Avoid the pitfall
Keeping your credentials current is definitely your best option
.
The PEF Education and Training Department has many programs to help you do this.

These programs are funded through the PEF PS&T contract, which calls for the Professional Development funding to extend beyond the current contract’s expiration April 1, 2011, through December 31, 2011.

“If you will need to earn further college or continuing education credits to maintain the professional license or certification required for your job, don’t put it off. Take advantage of the opportunities funded through your contract now,” said PEF Director of Human Resources and Education Clifford Merchant.

“If your credentials are due to lapse within a few weeks or even a month or two, contact this department immediately at (800) 342-4306, ext. 328 and we will help you connect with the program you need,” Merchant said.

Among those educational programs are:
• The Public Service Workshops Program, which provides workshops, including those designed to meet continuing education requirements for professionals, at no cost to PEF members or their state agencies;

• Reimbursement of registration fees for workshops and seminars, open to the public, that provide professional continuing education credits;

• Free, online, continuing education courses through SUNY Binghamton which must be taken outside of work hours; and

• Tuition reimbursement support for members working on college degrees.

For more information about these programs, go online to www.pef.org   and select “Education,” then “Professional Development,” and then choose the program that interests you.