§ 1005-d. Sharing employees, services and resources; indemnity and defense. 1. For the purposes of this section, the following words and terms shall have the following meanings unless the context indicates another meaning or intent:

Terms Used In N.Y. Public Authorities Law 1005-D

  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. Source: FDIC
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.

(a) "Department" means the department of transportation.

2. A shared services agreement may be executed between the department and the authority, canal corporation, or both of them, only for an emergency situation or extreme weather conditions, to share employees, services or resources as deemed appropriate including, but not limited to, for the performance of work and activities by the department on the facilities and property under the jurisdiction of the authority or canal corporation, and for the performance of work and activities by the authority or canal corporation on the facilities and property under the jurisdiction of the department. Such agreement or any project undertaken pursuant to such an agreement shall not be deemed to impair the rights of bondholders and may provide for, but not be limited to, the management, supervision and direction of such employees' performance of such services. Such agreement shall provide that the term shall not be longer than ten days. All shared employees shall remain employees of their respective employers and all applicable collectively bargained agreements shall remain in effect for the entire length of the shared services agreement. Further, such shared services agreement shall not amend, repeal or replace the terms of any agreement that is collectively negotiated between an employer and an employee organization, including an agreement or interest arbitration award made pursuant to Article 14 of the civil service law.

3. The authority shall defend any unit, entity, officer or employee of the department, using the forces of the department of law pursuant to subdivision eleven of this section in any action, proceeding, claim, demand or the prosecution of any appeal arising from or occasioned by the acts or omissions to act in the performance of the functions of the authority or canal corporation pursuant to a shared services agreement.

4. Defense pursuant to subdivision three of this section shall be conditioned upon the full cooperation of the department.

5. The authority shall indemnify and hold harmless any unit, entity, officer or employee of the department in the amount of any judgment obtained against the department or in the amount of any settlement the department enters into with the consent of the authority for any and all claims, damages or liabilities arising from or occasioned by the acts or omissions to act of the authority or canal corporation pursuant to a shared services agreement; provided, however, that the act or omission from which such judgment or settlement arose occurred while the authority or canal corporation was acting within the scope of its functions pursuant to a shared services agreement. No such settlement of any such action, proceeding, claim or demand shall be made without the approval of the authority's board of trustees or its designee.

6. Any claim or proceeding commenced against any unit, entity, officer or employee of the authority or canal corporation that arises pursuant to any shared services agreement shall not be construed in any way to impair, alter, limit, modify, abrogate or restrict any immunity available to or conferred upon any unit, entity, officer or employee of the authority or canal corporation, or to impair, alter, limit, modify, abrogate or restrict any right to defense and indemnification provided for any governmental officer or employee by, in accordance with, or by reason of, any other provision of state or federal statutory or common law.

7. (a) The state shall defend any unit, entity, officer or employee of the authority and canal corporation using the forces of the department of law in any action, proceeding, claim, demand or the prosecution of any appeal arising from or occasioned by the acts or omissions to act in the performance of the functions of the department pursuant to a shared services agreement.

(b) Defense pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall be conditioned upon the full cooperation of the authority and canal corporation.

(c) The state shall indemnify and hold harmless any unit, entity, officer or employee of the authority or canal corporation in the amount of any judgment obtained against the authority or canal corporation in the amount of any settlement the authority or canal corporation enters into with the consent of the state for any and all claims, damages or liabilities arising from or occasioned by the acts or omissions to act on behalf of the department pursuant to a shared services agreement, provided, however, that the act or omission from which such judgment or settlement arose occurred while the department was acting within the scope of its functions pursuant to a shared services agreement. Any such settlement shall be executed pursuant to section twenty-a of the court of claims act.

(d) Any claim or proceeding commenced against any unit, entity, officer or employee of the department pursuant to any shared services agreement shall not be construed in any way to impair, alter, limit, modify, abrogate or restrict any immunity available to or conferred upon any unit, entity, officer or employee of the department, or to impair, alter, limit, modify, abrogate or restrict any right to defense and indemnification provided for any governmental officer or employee by, in accordance with, or by reason of, any other provision of state or federal statutory or common law.

(e) Any payment made pursuant to this subdivision or any monies paid for a claim against or settlement with the department, authority or canal corporation pursuant to this subdivision and pursuant to a shared services agreement shall be paid from appropriations for payment by the state pursuant to the court of claims act.

8. This section shall not in any way affect the obligation of any claimant to give notice to the state, authority, or canal corporation under § 10 of the court of claims act or any other provision of law provided, however, that notice served upon the state, authority, or canal corporation who is a party to the shared services agreement shall be valid notice on all parties to the agreement, when such claim arises out of such shared services agreement. The state, authority and canal corporation shall notify each other when they receive a notice of claim, notice of intention to make a claim or a claim arising out of such agreement.

9. The provisions of this section shall not be construed to impair, alter, limit or modify the rights and obligations of any insurer under any insurance agreement.

10. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, when employed pursuant to a shared services agreement, employees of the authority, canal corporation and department shall be deemed employees of all such entities and the state for purposes of the workers' compensation law.

11. At the request of the authority or canal corporation, services and assistance and legal services for the authority or canal corporation shall be performed by forces or officers of the department and the department of law respectively, and all other state officers, departments, boards, divisions and commissions shall render services within their respective functions.

12. The authority shall prepare and submit to the governor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the attorney general, and the comptroller on or before the first day of February of each year, a report detailing each specific instance of resource sharing between the department, the authority, and the canal corporation undertaken pursuant to this section during the preceding calendar year.

  Previous section
Next section  
 Title 1 Contents