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
Public Employment Labor Law
Appellate Division Again Holds that Resignation in Disciplinary Action Disqualifies Employee from Disability Retirement Benefits
Despite the constant influx of novel legal issues caused by the COVID-19 crisis, the New Jersey Appellate Division is still busy at work rendering decisions on all aspects of the law, including those related to labor and employment. Case in point: M.R. v. Board. of Trustees (PERS), No. A-6015-17T4, 2020 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS…
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…
Navigating the Families First Coronavirus Response Act
On March 18, 2020, President Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which provides paid leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and paid sick leave for absences resulting from COVID-19. Here are some important points regarding the impact of the law as well as its application:
- The law took effect on
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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…
Appellate Division Orders Civil Service to Consider New Evidence in NJDOC Sergeant’s Removal Appeal
On July 30, 2019, the New Jersey Appellate Division issued a formal opinion in Docket No.: A-3194-17T1 reversing an earlier decision by the the Civil Service Commission (CSC) refusing to reopen the appeal of a Corrections Sergeant (Appellant) of his removal from employment with the New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC). The Appellant was previously…
The Effect of Resignation on your Application for Disability Retirement
A recent opinion rendered by the Appellate Division has important implications for all law enforcement officers, and all public employees for that matter, who are considering applying for disability retirement while simultaneously fighting disciplinary charges. The case, Cardinale v. Board of Trustees, Police and Firemen’s Retirement System, A-1997-17T1, involved a police officer who was…
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…
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…