Opn. No.

HON. HOWARD F. MILLER Deputy Director Division of the Budget

This is in reply to your inquiry as to whether the abolition of positions is a necessary prerequisite to the termination of employees for reasons of economy.

Any consideration of this question must be grounded on the principle that once a public employee has acquired permanent status in the classified service, he may not be removed, suspended or demoted in grade except in accordance with statutory authority. This principle governs all such actions, whether for reasons of physical disability (Civil Service Law, §§ 71, 73) incompetency…