As reported by nj.com, Senate President Stephen Sweeney said today he plans to introduce legislation to increase health and pension benefits payments for public workers and that the Budget and Appropriation Committee will hold a hearing on it next week.

Sweeney and Governor Chris Christie have reached an agreement on the measure, but Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver has not signed onto it. Under the proposal, police and firefighters would pay an additional 1.5 percent of their salaries toward their pensions, and non-uniform public workers would immediately pay an additional 1 percent and eventually reach an additional 2 percent, for a total of 7.5 percent of their salaries.

Workers would also pay more for their health benefits on a sliding scale, with higher income workers paying up to 30 percent of their premiums and the lowest-income workers paying 3 percent. 

In recent interviews, several Assembly members called for the measures to be split into separate bills, one dealing with pensions and the other with health benefits. “Of course they want to do the pension bill, you know, that’s what the unions want,” Sweeney said. “They want their pensions fixed, but they don’t want to have to deal with the health care component. You know who needs the health care component. The taxpayers.” Sweeney also said, “This is not about being unfair to the unions, it’s about being unfair to the taxpayers.”

Assemblyman Jack McKeon said he supports splitting the bills because lawmakers have traditionally dealt with pension issues in the past, while unions negotiated health benefits. “The concept of combining these is foreign,” he said. Asked about Sweeney’s comments, McKeon responded, “We don’t need two bullies.”

A short time later, Oliver issued a written statement that said she was “committed to getting it done.” She added, however, “My caucus had legitimate questions after seeing the details of this concept for the first time. Working through these concerns is reasonable and appropriate. Reforming the public worker pension and health insurance system at all levels of government to bring relief to taxpayers while respecting worker rights is my priority.”

Tags: Articles, health care, healthcare benefits, healthcare reform, NJ Public Safety Officers, NJ Public Workers, Pension, pension benefits, pension reform, reform bills, Sweeney
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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.

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