On account of the COVID-19 outbreak, many employers are requiring employees submit to temperature checks prior to entering the place of employment or their specific job.  For New Jersey Public Safety Officers, this is no different. To this end, the State of New Jersey and many counties, towns, and municipalities are requiring officers submit to temperature checks prior to entering places of employment such as correctional facilities and station houses and/or reporting to their specific assignments and/or posts. Recently, we had a number of unions inquire as to whether officers should be compensated for the time spent submitting to such temperature checks and waiting in line for the same.

Although it is a fact-sensitive determination, New Jersey Public Safety Officers may be compensated for submitting to temperature checks under certain circumstances. Specifically, the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947 provide potential avenues to obtain the same. Under these laws, the operative question will be whether the temperature check is an “integral and indispensable” part of an officer’s job. As such, questions such as whether the temperature check is mandatory prior to an officer starting his/her shift and whether the same is conducted on the employer’s premises become highly relevant.  If it can be established that the temperature check serves as a “barrier” of sorts for an officer to engage in their job, the time spent submitting to the temperature checks and waiting in line is likely compensable.

During these uncertain times and the dangers they are facing on a daily basis, it is imperative the rights of all New Jersey Public Safety Officers are protected and they are receiving the compensation to which they are due and owed. As such, please feel free to contact us to discuss this issue, or any other issue, in further detail.  Thank you for all that you are doing and stay safe.

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DONALD C. BARBATI, JR.

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.