Sturdivant v. Dep’t of Health & Mental Hygiene
Annotate this CasePlaintiffs were employees of a State psychiatric hospital who had been laid off and were not rehired in order of seniority when the hospital later filled vacancies for positions comparable to those previously occupied by Plaintiffs. An administrative law judge denied Plaintiffs’ grievance, concluding that Plaintiffs were not entitled to be rehired under a reinstatement process. The circuit court affirmed. The court of special appeals remanded the case for further factfinding, concluding (1) there is no statutory preference for reinstatement, as opposed to recruitment, in the State Personnel Management System, but if an agency decides to fill vacancies through recruitment, it must follow statutory procedures, including public notice and transparency as to the selection criteria; and (2) it was not clear whether the agency in this case complied with those criteria. The Court of Appeals affirmed by adopting the opinion of the court of special appeals and adding an endorsement to the court of special appeal’s opinion to remove any doubt as to the standing of that decision as the law of the State.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.