One of the mechanisms that law enforcement officers and unions have at the negotiations table is the characterization of or “free agent” mentality. In simple terms, this refers to an individual officer’s ability to transfer or seek employment with another agency that is offering better wages, benefits, and employment conditions. When this occurs, however, employers
In collective negotiations, union are always looking for ways to increase their leverage at the negotiating table. One of the ways to do so is to have access to all the relevant information you need, whether it be financial documentation, comparable contracts, relevant policies, or staffing information. However, obtaining this information can sometimes seem like
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
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
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
According to an article published in NJ Spotlight, New Jersey’s public-employee pension fund investments generated returns totaling 9.06% for fiscal year 2018. Some of the investments that were credited for lifting the fund’s overall performance included U.S. equities and real-estate holdings.
The NJ pension system covers the retirements of approximately 800,000 current and retired public
The City of Paterson is looking at the possibility of ending its longstanding practice of using self-insurance for employee medical coverage and switching to New Jersey’s State Health Benefits program, as reported in Northjersey.com. By doing so, Paterson believes that it would save approximately 20 million dollars given that its cost for employee medical coverage
As reported in Northjersey.com, the Murphy Administration has reached a health care deal with the state’s public workers’ unions that is expected to yield approximately $500 million in savings over the next two years. The pact directs union members and retirees to utilize “in-network doctors” and “generic prescription drugs”, according to a report by the
In New Jersey under an existing employment regulation, state employees can donate unused time off to a co-worker who has exhausted his/her own allotted leave bank due to a catastrophic illness or injury that has kept them from returning to work. As reported on the website, NJSpotlight.com, State lawmakers want to see this longstanding policy
As reported in NorthJersey.com, New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney has plans to wring savings out of government which could fall hard on public employee unions. Supposedly Sweeny wants to enlist Governor Philip Murphy as his “partner”, but Murphy wants no part of it.
Sweeney’s post-budget focus on cost cutting poses a dilemma for Murphy.