Lead Opinion
Appeal from a judgment of the Supreme Court (Plumadore, J.), entered January 11, 1991 in Franklin County, which dismissed petitioner’s application, in a proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78, to, inter alia, review a determination of respondents denying his request to withdraw his resignation from his former position with the Department of Transportation.
On Thursday, May 17, 1990, the day after petitioner, a probationary employee in the position of laborer with respondent Department of Transportation, orally informed a supervisor that he was resigning, petitioner was informed by respon
When petitioner’s subsequent two written requests for reinstatement were denied, he commenced this CPLR article 78 proceeding seeking, inter alia, an annulment of respondents’ determination disallowing withdrawal of his resignation, a declaration that the Department reinstate him to his former position, and payment of lost income and benefits. Supreme Court dismissed the petition, reasoning that inasmuch as petitioner was a probationary employee, he could be terminated for any reason so long as he was not terminated in bad faith (see, Matter of Johnson v Katz, 68 NY2d 649, 650) and hence there was no abuse of discretion in denying his request to revoke his resignation. Petitioner appeals.
At issue is not whether respondents’ decision to terminate petitioner was proper, indeed no such determination was ever made (see, 4 NYCRR 4.5 [b] [5] [iii]; cf., Matter of Giannandrea v Meehan, 117 AD2d 806, lv denied 68 NY2d 612), but whether respondents’ refusal to allow petitioner to withdraw his resignation was an abuse of discretion. Because this is the only determination made by respondents, it is the only one which may be reviewed (see, Matter of Scherbyn v Wayne-Finger Lakes Bd. of Coop. Educ. Servs., 77 NY2d 753, 758). The fact that the evidence respecting petitioner’s work record may be, as Supreme Court found, sufficient to justify petitioner’s termination is of no moment at this juncture, for that is a matter that goes to the validity of petitioner’s termination, not to the propriety of the denial of his request to rescind his resignation.
Concerning the latter issue, the pertinent civil service regulations provide that, "[a] resignation may not be withdrawn * * * after it is delivered to the appointing authority, without the consent of the appointing authority” (4 NYCRR 5.3 [c]). And, although a resignation must be written (4 NYCRR 5.3 [a]), there is no such requirement for revocation of the resig
Petitioner’s claim that respondents are estopped from rejecting his revocation as untimely or improper by virtue of Spoor’s assistant telling him to call back on Monday to speak with Spoor regarding such revocation is unavailing; although respondents note in their brief that equitable estoppel principles can be invoked against the State in these circumstances (see, Hueber Hares Glavin v State of New York, 75 AD2d 464, 468), it is inappropriate to do so given that petitioner has not shown that the assistant’s actions involved the knowledge and intention necessary to establish waiver or equitable estoppel (see, supra; Airco Alloys Div. v Niagara Mohawk Power Corp., 76 AD2d 68, 81-82).
Weiss, P. J., Mahoney and Harvey, JJ., concur.
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting). As I view this proceeding, the undisputed determinative facts are as follows. Petitioner, a probationary employee in respondent Department of Transportation, orally informed a supervisor on May 16, 1990 that he wished to resign his position. The next day, upon being informed by respondent Gerald Spoor, the chief supervisor for the area, that a resignation had to be in writing, petitioner signed the letter of resignation that was brought to his home by a Department employee. There is no indication that petitioner’s resignation was involuntary or coerced by any member of the Department. By the following morning, Friday, May 18, 1990, petitioner apparently regretted his action and phoned Spoor to withdraw his resignation. Because Spoor was then unavailable, petitioner informed Spoor’s assistant that he
The majority finds this refusal by the Department to permit petitioner to revoke his resignation to present at least a question of fact that requires further consideration in a remittal. In the circumstances, as I view them, I find remittal for this purpose to be unnecessary and improper.
The regulations clearly provide, as the majority concedes, that "[a] resignation may not be withdrawn * * * after it is delivered to the appointing authority, without the consent of the appointing authority” (4 NYCRR 5.3 [c]). The "appointing authority” must be considered to be the Department, and delivery of the letter of resignation to Spoor’s assistant was certainly proper delivery to the Department. It follows, therefore, that after such proper delivery to the appointing authority the resignation could not be withdrawn without the consent of the appointing authority (4 NYCRR 5.3). Petitioner has not obtained such consent, because his two written requests for reinstatement have been denied. As a probationary employee, petitioner has no right to a termination hearing and there is no suggestion that any member of the Department acted in bad faith.
Accordingly, I believe Supreme Court correctly dismissed petitioner’s application and its judgment should be affirmed.
Ordered that the judgment is reversed, on the law, with costs, and matter remitted to the Supreme Court for further proceedings not inconsistent with this court’s decision.
