BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo City Committee on Civil Service on Oct. 21 heard testimony from a former city employee who said he was terminated without written notice after an on-duty injury, and the committee voted to table further action until Human Resources and Public Works provide records.

Danny Sanders, identified in the meeting as a former street sanitation department employee, told the committee he “never received any letter saying that I was terminated from the city.” Sanders said he was struck by a motor vehicle while on duty, underwent back surgery and did not return to work; he told the committee he was contacted by phone and informed he was terminated but never received correspondence.

The committee’s discussion focused on whether Sanders had been afforded due process under the civil service and bargaining-unit rules in effect at the time. Chairman Wyatt and several council members asked staff to request “any and all correspondence, information [and] notices” from Public Works and Human Resources so the committee can review the personnel record and the steps taken before the termination. Majority Leader (name not specified in the record) and other members said records should include any notice or documentation that would show whether proper procedures were followed.

Sanders gave two different references to the injury date in the hearing: he first said he was injured in “02/2010” and later referred to February “’9.” The committee noted that the precise timeline in the personnel file must be clarified. Sanders also said, “I was terminated a month after I had surgery.”

Committee members said they were concerned by the lack of an obvious paper trail given Sanders’s reported years of service. A member asked Public Works and Human Resources to appear in chambers on a specific date and time to present records; committee staff were instructed to send a formal letter asking them to attend.

Procedural motions at the meeting included removing item 12 from the table so Sanders could speak, opening the item for discussion, and then tabling the matter after the committee requested records. The committee did not reach a final determination on whether the termination complied with civil service rules or bargaining-unit procedures; that question is to be revisited once staff obtains and the departments present the requested records.

The committee also took an early procedural vote on items 1 through 11 of the agenda during the session; those items were handled separately from the Sanders matter and are not discussed here. The committee set no date, in the transcript, for when it will resume public consideration of item 12 beyond the instruction that HR and Public Works be asked to appear in chambers with records.