LeadingAge NY Awaits Decision in Executive Compensation Case

LeadingAge New York is expecting a decision in the very near future on our lawsuit challenging the regulatory limits on executive compensation and administrative costs emanating from Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order (EO) #38. LeadingAge New York et al v. Shah was filed last fall in State Supreme Court, Albany County.  All LeadingAge NY member organizations are represented in this lawsuit and need not participate in any other lawsuits challenging EO #38.

In recent months, State courts have reached decisions in relevant cases that rely on arguments we made in our lawsuit. In April State Supreme Court Judge Thomas Feinman of Nassau County ruled that the EO #38 regulations are invalid, citing the 1987 NYS Court of Appeals decision in Boreali v. Axelrod, a case involving anti-smoking regulations promulgated by DOH in the absence of legislative authority. In June, the NYS Court of Appeals used a similar line of reasoning in upholding a decision to invalidate former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s so called “soda ban” rule, saying that the policy was beyond the city Board of Health’s authority.

The final regulations limiting spending on executive compensation and administrative costs became effective July 1, 2013 and were implemented Jan. 1, 2014 for most providers. LeadingAge NY and its Legal Services Committee will continue to closely monitor developments on the regulations.

Contact: Dan Heim (dheim@leadingageny.org), 518-867-8866