For many years, the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission has pursued a policy, rare if not unique, of suspending the license of any taxi driver who was arrested (not convicted, just arrested) not just for any felony, but for a long list of misdemeanor offenses. The TLC would suspend the licenses, no questions asked, even if the alleged crimes were off duty and had nothing to do with driving a cab. The TLC would allow the cabbie a hearing post-suspension, ostensibly to determine whether or license should remain suspended while the arrest charges were pending. The catch was these hearings were basically shams and no taxi driver was ever reinstated through the hearing process.
that situation has changed.
Thanks to a lawsuit brought by Dan and an appeal brought by Dan and David Goldberg, the U.S. Court of Appeals held the City's hearing process unconstitutional and that it systemically denied the drivers due process of law. Now the hearing judges are employed by the City's Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings or OATH, not by the TLC itself, and for the TLC to extend the suspension of a license, it must prove not just that a criminal charge is pending, but that the driver's licensure poses a direct and substantial threat to public safety.
In doing so, the judge will consider not just the arrest charge, but the whether it poses any real continuing threat to the public that is both “direct” and “substantial.” That means the judge will consider the circumstances surrounding the alleged offense and the driver's overall history, both as a cabdriver and a s a citizen. Many times, the charged crime is the sole infraction in an otherwise spotless record, or it may be technical or mitigated. In any event, when drivers request hearings, they are now reinstated in a large majority of cases.
In short, if the TLC suspends your license based on an arrest, if you request a hearing, you have a good chance at reinstatement.
Here are a few cases where Dan has won reinstatement for suspended drivers.
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Here are the primary ordinances and rules that govern taxi and for-hire vehicle drivers and suspensions.
New York City Administrative Code re the FHV Industry: The NYC ordinances governing the for-hire vehicle industry
TLC Driver Rules: Rules governing taxi and FHV drivers
TLC Adjudication Rules: Rules governing TLC hearings as well as suspensions and revocations of TLC licenses
OATH Rules: Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings Rules of PracticeOATH Rules
OATH also holds hearings on summonses that are issued by the following enforcement agencies. The same principles apply at administrative hearings involving these agencies as they do at TLC/OATH hearings.
NYC Department of Sanitation
NYC Department of Buildings
NYC Fire Department
NYC Department of Environmental Protection
NYC Department of Transportation
NYC Department of Parks and Recreation
NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
NYC Department of Consumer Affairs
New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission
New York Police Department (NYPD)
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission
NYC Business Integrity Commission
NYC Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT)
NYC Department of Finance
Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement