In O’Brien v. NYC Civil Service Comm’n, the court granted an Article 78 petition annulling the determination of the New York City Civil Service Commission confirming the NYPD’s decision finding the petitioner – who has a history of multiple sclerosis – medically disqualified from appointment as a NYPD police officer.
Notably, NYPD did not physically examine the petitioner. Their physician reviewed his medical records which cited anxiety and fatigue in a “problem list”, and stated that petitioner’s MS “would be aggravated by the stress and poor sleep inherent in the position.”
The court found that respondents’ conclusions were “completely unsupported,” noting that “[p]etitioner’s counsel has cited numerous references to medical literature indicating that a diagnosis of relapsing-remitting MS is not a predictor of its course in a particular individual, many of whom go on to lead lives essentially unaffected by disability.”
It also cited Court of Appeals precedent for the proposition that
[e]mployment may not be denied based on speculation and mere possibilities, especially when such determination is premised solely on the fact of an applicant’s inclusion in a class of persons with a particular disability rather than upon an individualized assessment of the specific individual.
It therefore granted the petition and remanded the matter to the NYPD for a de novo determination.