Devins v. Sayer

Civil service —■ veterans ■—■ abolishment of position — when veteran not entitled to reinstatement.

Appeal from an order of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the first judicial department, entered April 18, 1922, which reversed an order of Special Term denying a motion for a peremptory writ of mandamus to compel the reinstatement of the petitioner in the position of factory inspector in the office of the industrial commissioner of the department of labor and granted said motion. On June 15, 1921, petitioner received notice from the industrial commissioner that, by reason of the curtailment in the appropriations in the department of labor, a reduction in the number of employees in the department was necessary, and that the position occupied by him was abolished, effective June 30, 1921. The petitioner assigns as a reason why he should have been retained in said position that he was an honorably-discharged soldier; that under section 22 of the Civil Service Law, which provides that an honorably-discharged soldier shall not be removed from his position in the civil service except for incompetency or misconduct shown after a hearing, after due notice on stated charges, he should have been retained in his position, no charges having been preferred against him; that a number of factory inspectors were retained in service whose appointments were made subsequent to his, and that under section 22-a of the Civil Service Law the services of said persons should have been dispensed with prior to dispensing with his services.