ADMINISTRATIVE LAW | LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
01-2-4949 In the Matter of Baker, App. Div. (per curiam) (25 pp.) Appellant Sergeant Annie Baker, a former corrections officer with the Juvenile Justice Commission, appeals from the final decision of the Civil Service Commission sustaining disciplinary charges for nonperformance of her job responsibilities and removing her from her position as a corrections officer based on her inability to meet the minimum 80% accuracy score during a fall 2011 firearms requalification session. The panel finds that the requirement that a JJC Correction Sergeant meet weapons qualification as a condition of remaining employed was not arbitrary or unreasonable; JJC policy number 11H-3.2, requiring removal of JJC law enforcement officers who cannot requalify with firearms semi-annually was published and understood; and there is no evidence to suggest that limiting re-qualification attempts to six was arbitrary or capricious. However, the record contains other evidence showing certain JJC officers failed to meet the re-qualification requirements but suffered no sanctions and remained fully employed, raising questions of fundamental fairness and the possibility of arbitrary conduct. The panel concludes that because the record is not clear, a remand is necessary to clarify the application of the re-qualification policy for all JJC officers. If disparate treatment is verified, the CSC’s determination of discipline must be vacated and Sergeant Baker must be given the same opportunities as others who have also not re-qualified, because they too are legally barred from carrying a firearm.
