Court Upholds Firing of WCJ for Incompetence and Insubordination

The Appellate Division's 2nd Department on Wednesday ruled that the New York State Workers' Compensation Board was within its rights in ousting a judge for incompetence and insubordination. The board had accused Workers' Compensation Law Judge Robert Weinstein of refusing to perform his duties in a timely and satisfactory manner during his brief tenure on the bench. He also allegedly responded to repeated supervisory requests for work in an insubordinate manner. Against this backdrop, the court said that the penalty of termination "was not so disproportionate to the offenses...