As reported by nj.com, four years after a State Police union leader, David Jones, tangled with radio talk show host Craig Carton, the sizzle has long gone out of the feud. Yet, the labor dispute it spawned lives on.

Jones faced a five-day suspension for bringing personal information about Carton to a news conference after the shock jock criticized troopers on his New Jersey 101.5 FM radio show. But Jones never served the suspension, and he filed a labor complaint saying the state was trying to silence him. The complaint has never been acted on by the Public Employment Relations Commission, which handles disputes between labor and management.

In a twist, the complaint has languished for so long that Jones is now a member of the commission with which it was filed. He was nominated by Governor Chris Christie last month. Christine Lucarelli-Carneiro, the commission’s deputy general counsel, said that members routinely recuse themselves from cases in which they have a stake.

The complaint, not yet closed, may never need to reach the full commission, which includes labor and management advocates. Lucarelli-Carneiro said the state and the union indicated early on that the dispute could be settled amicably.

The labor dispute stems from a 2007 feud between Jones, the outspoken president of the State Troopers Fraternal Association, and Carton, an acerbic radio talker who was one of two “Jersey Guys” on 101.5 known for their irreverence. Carton and his co-host, Ray Rossi, accused the State Police of planning a “ticket blitz” to harass motorists. Enraged, Jones called a news conference at the Statehouse to denounce the accusation as false. He brought a piece of paper with Carton’s home address and other personal information.

Jones halted his campaign at the request of State Police Superintendent Rick Fuentes. But the state attorney general at the time, Stuart Rabner, said Jones’ actions were inappropriate and undermined the State Police. Fuentes responded by issuing a five-day suspension to Jones, who wants it rescinded on the grounds that the disciplinary action infringes on his right to represent his union members.

“The wrongful actions taken by the public employer are retaliatory in nature,” the complaint says. ‘The actions are clearly intended to discourage union representatives in the exercise of rights guaranteed by the (New Jersey Employer-Employee Relations Act).”

Tags: Articles, NJ State Police, NJSP, PERC, STFA
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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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