As reported by NJ.com, the Hamilton Township firefighters’ unions will start knocking on residents’ doors asking them to sign petitions calling for the consolidation of the Township’s nine fire districts into one force that would provide protection to the entire town. The resolutions call for the dissolution of the district the taxpayers live in.
Donald C. Barbati
Public Worker Retirements Climbing Again With NJ Pension Talks
By Donald C. Barbati on
Posted in Public Employment Pension Crisis
As reported by NJ.com, nearly 10 percent more government workers retired in the first seven months of the year than in the same period last year, a rise some labor leaders say is a response to Governor Chris Christie’s overtures toward cutting benefits. More than 13,000 public employees retired through July, compared with fewer…
More Employee Misconduct at Bo Robinson Private Halfway House
By Donald C. Barbati on
Posted in Uncategorized
As reported by The Trentonian.com, an employee at private halfway house Albert “Bo” Robinson Assessment and Treatment Center, better known simply as Bo Robinson, is again being accused of having inappropriate sexual relations with an inmate.
This is the second time since June a Bo Robinson worker was terminated for allegedly engaging in sexual…
More NJ Public Employee Unions Join Lawsuit Against Christie Over Pay Freeze
By Donald C. Barbati on
Posted in Public Employment Labor Law
As reported by NJ.com, the State’s largest state workers union and three others have joined the lawsuit filed by our office against the Christie administration over its decision to freeze wages for state employees. Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson granted motions from the New Jersey Communications Workers of America, New Jersey Superior Officers Association…
Sweeney Wants Federal Loan Program To Rescue Public Worker Pensions
By Donald C. Barbati on
Posted in Public Employment Pension Crisis
As reported by NJ.com, State Senate President Stephen Sweeney said the answer to New Jersey’s rising public employee pension debt lies in creating a trillion dollar federal loan program that will help states avoid insolvency, spare millions of government workers from economic devastation and take the pressure off state budgets. The government aid program…
NJ Pledges Millions To Equip Officers With Body Cams
By Donald C. Barbati on
Posted in Uncategorized
As reported by NJ.com, New Jersey has pledged $4 million to equip every New Jersey State Trooper and thousands more local police officers with body cameras as demand for the technology rises in the wake of several high-profile police-involved shootings in the United States.
Body cameras, though increasingly ubiquitous in policing, are not yet…
Senate Passes Bill Increasing Penalties For Assaults Against Certain Law Enforcement Officers
By Donald C. Barbati on
Posted in Public Employment Labor Law
As reported on Senatenj.com, the New Jersey State Senate passed legislation sponsored by Diane Allen and Christopher Bateman to increase penalties for assaulting a corrections officer, sheriff’s officer, and other law enforcement personnel because of their job status. “These law enforcement officers have some of the most difficult and dangerous jobs that there are,”…
NJ Unions Protest Cuts To Pensions In Big Statehouse Rally
By Donald C. Barbati on
Posted in Public Employment Pension Crisis
As reported by NJ.com, from behind a podium on the Statehouse steps, Hetty Rosenstein briefly subdued a big crowd of public employees with the personal story of how her late father’s pension, earned over decades as head librarian of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, saved her mother’s home. “She pays…
NJ Pension Reform Fight Hits NJ Supreme Court
By Donald C. Barbati on
Posted in Uncategorized
As reported by NJ.com, nearly a year after Governor Chris Christie responded to a sudden budget crisis by slashing payments into the State pension system, New Jersey’s public labor unions will fight for their right to that money before the New Jersey Supreme Court on Wednesday. A victory for the unions could send billions…
Acting NJ Attorney General ‘Pro-Body Camera’ For Police, But Has Privacy Concerns
By Donald C. Barbati on
Posted in Uncategorized
As reported by NJ.com, Acting State Attorney General John Hoffman said Wednesday his “instincts and intuition are certainly pro-body camera” for police in New Jersey, but he has concerns about how their use might infringe on privacy in cases such as domestic abuse or sexual assault. Hoffman said during an Assembly budget hearing in…