City of Atlanta v. Lane

A former police officer was entitled to reinstatement as a city employee and entitled to back compensation since the city did not appeal the Civil Service Board's decision reversing the defendant's dismissal for various work rule violations.

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Ellis Lane was an Atlanta police officer whose dismissal for various work rule violations was overturned by the Civil Service Board. After the Board’s decision, the City of Atlanta notified Lane that it was retroactively suspending and terminating him based on new grounds that were unrelated to Lane’s earlier dismissal. Because the trial court correctly held that the Atlanta City Code did not permit retroactive suspensions without pay or dismissals, but erred in calculating Lane’s entitlement to back compensation, we affirm in part and reverse in part. On September 29, 1999, the City dismissed Lane for eight violations of employee work rules, and Lane appealed his dismissal to the Civil Service Board. Three weeks after his dismissal, Lane was indicted by a federal grand jury on three felony counts of interference with commerce by threats or violence, which were unrelated to the work rule violations, and pled guilty to those charges on March 14, 2000. The City did not raise the issue of the federal indictment in the civil service appeal until after the hearings were over and the record was closed, and the City never notified the Board of Lane’s federal guilty plea.

On April 7, 2000, the Board reversed Lane’s September 29th dismissal and ordered the City of Atlanta to grant Lane “appropriate relief . . . according to the Atlanta City Code.” It did not address the City’s motion to re-open the record to consider the federal indictment. Several days later, on April 18, 2000, the City notified Lane for the first time that it was using his October 19, 1999 federal indictment as grounds for suspension without pay. The notice made Lane’s suspension retroactive to October 28, 1999. Thereafter, the City sent Lane multiple notices of retroactive suspension and dismissal based on his federal crimes.

City of Atlanta v. Lane

A former police officer was entitled to reinstatement as a city employee and entitled to back compensation since the city did not appeal the Civil Service Board's decision reversing the defendant's dismissal for various work rule violations.

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