As reported by app.com on February 1, 2011, two major public safety unions opposed new arbitration caps on the raises that can be given to their members, but union representatives will play a key role in deciding whether those caps, designed to give taxpayers a break from skyrocketing public worker salaries, remain in effect beyond 2014.

Senate President Stephen Sweeney appointed two union officials to the panel that will study the effect of the cap and whether it should remain in effect after 2014. The two are Ronald Bakley of Erial, a retired police officer who is director of the New Jersey Fraternal Order of Police labor council, and William Lavin of Woodbridge, president of the New Jersey Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association. Both individuals have said the arbitration changes signed by Governor Christie in December limiting raises that can be awarded by arbitrators at 2 percent a year were not necessary.

Lavin said he wants to make sure the task force considers his union’s concerns about timeliness, the selection of arbitrators and the accuracy of the depiction of raises being received by public safety employees. “The fair interpretation of those numbers is critical to us,” Lavin said. Bakley said he is not concerned about specifically what the panel, which has not yet organized, intends to accomplish. He said the law will get arbitrators to decide cases faster, because their pay is capped at $7,500 and they $1,000 per day fines if they take more than 45 days. But he predicted other impacts of the law would not be as drastic because it keeps conventional arbitration on the books.

The Police and Fire Public Interest Arbitration Impact Task Force was established as part of the arbitration reform. It is to study the impact of the award cap on property taxes, union contracts, municipal services, and expenses and changes in crime rates, response time and police and fire staffing. The task force will consist of eight members. The four being appointed by Governor Christie and the two being named by Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver have not yet been identified.

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Photo of Donald C. Barbati Donald C. Barbati

Donald C. Barbati is a shareholder of Crivelli, Barbati & DeRose, L.L.C. His primary practice revolves around the representation of numerous public employee labor unions in various capacities to include contract negotiation, unfair labor practice litigation, contract grievance arbitration, and other diverse issues…

Donald C. Barbati is a shareholder of Crivelli, Barbati & DeRose, L.L.C. His primary practice revolves around the representation of numerous public employee labor unions in various capacities to include contract negotiation, unfair labor practice litigation, contract grievance arbitration, and other diverse issues litigated before the courts and administrative tribunals throughout the State of New Jersey. In addition, Mr. Barbati also routinely represents individuals in various types of public pension appeals, real estate transactions, and general litigation matters. He is a frequent contributor to the New Jersey Public Safety Officers Law Blog, a free legal publication designed to keep New Jersey public safety officers up-to-date and informed about legal issues pertinent to their profession. During his years of practice, Mr. Barbati has established a reputation for achieving favorable results for his clients in a cost-efficient manner.

Mr. Barbati has also handled numerous novel legal issues while representing New Jersey Public Safety Officers. Most notably, he served as lead counsel for the Appellants in the published case In re Rodriguez, 423 N.J. Super. 440 (App. Div. 2011). In that case, Mr. Barbati successfully argued on behalf of the Appellants, thereby overturning the Attorney General’s denial of counsel to two prison guards in a civil rights suit arising from an inmate assault. In the process, the Court clarified the standard to be utilized by the Attorney General in assessing whether a public employee is entitled to legal representation and mandated that reliance must be placed on up-to-date information.

Prior to becoming a practicing attorney, Mr. Barbati served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Linda R. Feinberg, Assignment Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Mercer Vicinage. During his clerkship Mr. Barbati handled numerous complex and novel substantive and procedural issues arising from complaints in lieu of prerogative writs, orders to show cause, and motion practice. These include appeals from decisions by planning and zoning boards and local government bodies, bidding challenges under the Local Public Contract Law, Open Public Records Act requests, the taking of private property under the eminent domain statute, and election law disputes. In addition, Mr. Barbati, as a certified mediator, mediated many small claims disputes in the Special Civil Part.

Mr. Barbati received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, magna cum laude, from Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Upon graduating, Mr. Barbati attended Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, Delaware. In 2007, he received his juris doctorate, magna cum laude, graduating in the top five percent of his class. During law school, Mr. Barbati interned for the Honorable Joseph E. Irenas, Senior United States District Court Judge for the District of New Jersey in Camden, New Jersey, assisting on various constitutional, employment, and Third Circuit Court of Appeals litigation, including numerous civil rights, social security, and immigration cases.