June 12, 2026 — On April 23, 2026, PEF received a favorable court decision in a challenge to the Office of Employee Relations’ (OER) denials of out-of-title work grievances filed on behalf of three SG 18 Registered Nurse 1s (RN 1)and a SG 18 Addictions Counselor 2 (AC 2) who were assigned to perform the job duties of a SG 5 Food Service Worker 1 and a SG 9 Food Service Worker 2.
The decision ordered that the Office of Addictions Services and Supports (OASAS) “is directed to cease and desist from assigning the grieved food service duties to employees in the Registered Nurse 1 and Addictions Counselor 2 titles.”
In August of 2022, OASAS notified members at the St. Lawrence Addiction Treatment Center in Ogdensburg that due to a lack of food service worker employees, staffed by the Office of Mental Health (OMH), they would be assigned shifts for breakfast, lunch, and dinner at least once a week on a rotating schedule until the shortage was resolved.
“Article 17 of the PEF/State CBA prohibits out-of-title duties, and the members worked with PEF Field Representative Martin Blair to file contract grievances contesting the assignments,” said PEF Associate Counsel Kimberly Livingstone, who was assigned to the legal case. “The grievances filed by PEF requested that OASAS cease and desist from assigning the food service worker duties to our unit members. OASAS and OER denied the grievances, alleging that the duties constituted a reasonable outgrowth/logical extension of duties. When the grievances were denied, PEF continued its fight by filing a lawsuit in Albany County Supreme Court.”
In his judgement, Acting Supreme Court Justice Julian D. Schreibman determined that OER “irrationally determined that the food service duties assigned to petitioners were a reasonable outgrowth or logical extension” of their RN 1 and AC 2 job titles.
Schreibman said neither title includes any food service duties; the food service worker titles are represented by a different union; and the grieved duties do not relate in any way to the primary function of an RN 1 or AC 2.
“It is inappropriate to foist such duties, over a long-term basis, upon employees whose professional medical training and experience is in dire need in other areas of the facility,” he held. “Furthermore, the food service duties are arguably detrimental to petitioners’ inherent personal responsibility to maintain cleanliness in a health care setting, as they are being asked to clean up food-related spills and garbage.”
The argument that there was an emergency need to have members perform these duties was also dismissed by the judge. The out-of-title duties were assigned for three and a half years, and in a planned, deliberate manner: “Even if the assignments were initially made in order to meet the operational needs of SLATC due to a sudden staffing shortage, there has been more than a reasonable amount of time to recruit and hire an appropriately graded Food Service Worker to fulfill the duties.”
“The New York State Constitution, Civil Service Law, and Article 17 of the CBA offer important protections to PEF members against unlawful out-of-title work. I am pleased that the Judge recognized these essential safeguards and ordered OASAS to cease and desist” said PEF General Counsel John Svare.
PEF members are encouraged to reach out to their field representatives if they believe they are performing out-of-title work.
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