For many years, the TLC has pursued a dubious and unusual policy of suspending the license of taxi drivers who were arrested—not convicted, just arrested—for any felony or for long list of misdemeanor offenses without any regard for the facts or the driver's record. Also, for many years, the post-suspension hearings were a complete sham and not a single driver was reinstated through that process.
That situation changed because of a landmark case called Nnebe v. Daus which Dan and David Goldberg won on appeal in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. In the Nnebe case, Ackman and Goldberg successfully argued that the TLC suspended their licenses without meaningful due process and that the entire system was unconstitutional.The Court of Appeals ordered that the City must give drivers who are suspended a fair hearing where a neutral judge must consider the context of the arrest (such as the charges, the circumstances, mitigating circumstances and whether the alleged crime was on duty) and the driver's record overall. Under the current process, “The TLC must show that the charges, even if assumed to be true, demonstrate that the continuation of the License . . . would pose a direct and substantial threat” to public safety.
Now drivers actually have a good chance of winning their hearings and being reinstated. If you are a taxi driver and your TLC license has been suspended on arrest, you should absolutely demand a hearing and seek reinstatement.
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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