Danno all'immagine della P.A., lotta all'assenteismo e potere disciplinare

With decision no. 61/2020 the Constitutional Court has declared unconstitutional art. 55-quater, paragraph 3-quater, of Legislative decree 165/2001 because of the contrast with art. 76 of the Constitution. Therefore, the Court deems that Law 124/2015 – authorizing the government to introduce the unconstitutional provision – only deals with the disciplinary procedure: in this connection, new forms of administrative responsibility are out of the scope of Law 124/2015, as the damage to the image for unjustified absences of public employees. The decision deserves attention to reflect upon the rigid disciplinary regime which public employees are subject to after the privatization, in connection with most relevant jurisprudence and scholars’ orientations on the damage to the image for a public administration and its quantification.