Court Opinion

ID: 9660739
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 22:19:50.895163+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:14:21.701800
License: Public Domain

ON APPLICATION FOR REHEARING
CHARLES R. JONES, Judge.
h The Application for Rehearing filed by the New Orleans Public Library (“the NOPL”) is granted for the limited purpose of clarifying an issue raised by the NOPL in its Application for Rehearing. The NOPL avers that our Court did not address the termination of Monna Mathieu for her unauthorized submission of the NOPL’s 2008 budget to the City Council of New Orleans. For the reasons set forth herein, we maintain the decree rendered herein.
To insure clarity, this court does find that Ms. Mathieu’s act of submitting the NOPL’s budget to the City Council did impair the efficient operation of the NOPL. However, we find that the termination of Ms. Mathieu for this infraction and the others cited by the NOPL, to be harsh, arbitrary and capricious.
“In determining whether disciplinary action was based on good cause and whether the punishment was commensurate with the infraction, this court should not modify the Civil Service Commission order unless it was arbitrary, capricious, or characterized by an abuse of discretion.” Cure v. Dept. of Police, 07-0166, p. 2 (La.App. 4 Cir. 8/1/07), 964 So.2d 1093, 1094-95. A decision is “arbitrary and capricious” if there is no rational basis for the CSC’s action. Id. at p. 2, 964 So.2d at 1095. In consideration of Ms. Mathieu’s twenty five years of employment with 12the NOPL and her lack of a disciplinary record — aside from the instant incidents — we find that termination of Ms. Mathieu’s employment is excessive. Moreover, the overall operation of the NOPL was less than stellar during this post Hurricane Katrina period, with short staff and no Director of the NOPL in place. Thus, we vacate the penalty of termination for these infractions, and maintain our prior imposition of a suspension of ninety (90) days without pay upon Ms. Mathieu, and order reinstatement thereafter.

DECREE

For the foregoing reasons, we grant the application for rehearing of The New Orleans Public Library, and maintain the decree of this Court previously rendered.

APPLICATION FOR REHEARING GRANTED.