As reported in the New Jersey Law Journal, Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association Local 67 (FMBA #67), filed a grievance against the Borough of Carteret in regard to a staffing issue that the parties had agreed to which was subsequently retracted by the Borough. The case was taken to an arbitration hearing and
NJ Public Employees
Plan for Billions in Borrowing to Avert Public Worker Layoffs Clears NJ Assembly
As reported by NJ.com, a plan offered by Governor Phil Murphy for New Jersey’s state government to make up for massive losses in tax revenue with up to $14 billion in borrowing passed the State Assembly yesterday, but still lacks support from State Senate President Stephen Sweeney. The measure cleared the lower house in…
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…
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…
Murphy Signs Law Amending Disability Pension Statute Affording More Opportunity for 9/11 First Responders
As reported by NJ.com, New Jersey first responders who volunteered at Ground Zero after the Sept. 11 attacks are now eligible for an accidental disability pension under a bill signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday. It was one of two 9/11-related measures Murphy signed during a ceremony attended by more than…
NJ Public Employee Pension Fund Investments Yield a Higher Return than Originally Predicted
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…
Sweeney Panel Proposes 401(k) Pension For Certain State, Local Workers
As reported by NJSpotlight.com, a proposal to move some state and local employees to a new 401(k)-like pension system is gaining support because it has the potential to save billions of dollars. However, long before anything is adopted, it is likely to draw strenuous pushback from the public workers’ labor unions. The recommendation is…
Major NJ City Poised to Make Change from Self Insured Healthcare to the NJ State Health Benefits Plan
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…
NJ’s Public Employee Donated Sick Leave Policy May Soon Become Law
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…