Today, the New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division Issued a Temporary Stay on the release of public disclosure of the identities of Law Enforcement Officer who have been sanctioned for “serious disciplinary violations”, defined as
“termination of employment, reduction in rank or grade, and/or suspension greater than five days”. In issuing the Stay a briefing
The COVID-19 State of Emergency Does Not Entitle Management to “Throw Your Collective Bargaining Agreement Out the Window”
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken hold of our lives and has undoubtedly had an impact on First Responders from both a personal and professional standpoint. Over the past several weeks, our firm’s attorneys have had the unique perspective of witnessing individual administrators from across the State of New Jersey exhibit fantastic leadership qualities, while other
Make No Mistake About It–Hazard Pay is an Authorized Use of CARES Act Funding
As many of you are aware by now, State and Local Governments across the country have split $150 billion in Federal aid under a provision of the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The division of these dollars, made available through the new Coronavirus Relief Fund, is allocated to each State and
NJ PERC Puts Governmental Entities on Notice: STEP FREEZES ARE ONCE AGAIN ILLEGAL
Yesterday the New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) ruled that the State of New Jersey engaged in unfair labor practices by unilaterally discontinuing the payment of salary guide step increments upon the expiration of the New Jersey Law Enforcement Supervisors Association’s (NJLESA) and the New Jersey Superior Officers’ Associations (NJSOA) contracts that ran from
Legislation Proposed that Expands Workers Compensation Benefits for First Responders Contracting COVID-19
As reported in Insider NJ Senator Steven Sweeney introduced legislation expanding access to workers’ compensation benefits for front-line workers that have fallen ill as a result of exposure to COVID-19.
The bill, like similar legislation that has been introduced in Minnesota, would create a presumption that COVID-19 disease infections contracted by essential employees who interact
CDC Modifies Guidance for First Responders and Critical Infrastructure Employees
As announced at the White House Press Briefing on the evening of April 8, 2020, yesterday, the Center for Disease Control has modified their guidelines for First Responders that may have been exposed to individuals infected with COVID-19. The new guidelines that were most recently posted on the CDC’s Website are meant to assist agencies
Why New Jersey Needs a Dedicated COVID-19 Testing Facility for Correctional Police Officers
On Thursday, March 26, 2020, on behalf of ten thousand (10,000) New Jersey State Correctional Police Officers, I sent correspondence to the Commissioner for the New Jersey Department of Corrections and the Acting Director for the New Jersey State Juvenile Justice Commission requesting that they petition the Governor for the State of New Jersey to
The Imperfect Practice of Social Distancing for Law Enforcement Officers
As strange as this may sound, I currently feel extremely fortunate that for the past twelve days the attorneys and support personnel within our firm have had the ability to “quarantine” ourselves from the nuclear work space by separating from one another and working from individualized “remote” locations. We took these steps before we were
Coping with COVID-19: What Executive Orders 103 and 104 Mean to NJ’s Essential Employee’s
On March 9, 2020, Governor Philip D. Murphy signed Executive Order No. 103 (EO-103) in response to the Coronavirus disease (“COVID-19”) invoking “a State of Emergency pursuant to N.J.S.A. App. A:9-33 et seq. and a Public Health Emergency as contemplated by N.J.S.A. 26:13-1 et seq.” Executive Order No. 103 further prohibits any political subdivision of
Judge Orders the Release of Body Camera Footage Citing an Exception to NJ Supreme Court Decision
Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson most recently ruled that body camera footage can be released under the State’s Open Public Records Act and ordered Burlington County to release a partial police body camera video that the county was attempting to keep private.
The video footage requested involved the interactions of a Kevin Lewis with sheriff’s