A Capehart Scatchard Blog

Capehart Scatchard

Established in 1876, Capehart Scatchard is a diversified general practice law firm of over 90 attorneys practicing in more than a dozen major areas of law including alternative energy, banking & finance, business & tax, business succession, cannabis, creditors’ rights, healthcare, labor & employment, litigation, non-profit organizations, real estate & land use, school law, wills, trusts & estates and workers’ compensation defense.

With five offices in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York, we serve large and small businesses, public entities, non-profit organizations, academic institutions, governments and individuals.

35 Second Video Surveillance Footage Disclosable Under OPRA and Common Law Right of Access

On June 29, 2023, the New Jersey Appellate Division issued an unpublished opinion in the matter of Zezza v. Evesham Board of Education.  The appeal arose from a citizen’s request under the Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”) and the common law right of access, for approximately thirty-five (35) seconds of surveillance footage taken from two cameras at an elementary school within the Evesham Township School District (“District”).  The District denied the request for the video footage on the basis of the security exception to OPRA and the case of Gilleran v. Twp. of Bloomfield, 227 N.J. 159 (2016) for the […]

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Upcoming Webinar: “Employee Leaves of Absence Update-Answers To The Most Frequently Asked Questions”

By on June 9, 2023 in NJ School Law, Seminars

On Wednesday, June 21, 2023 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Lauren E. Tedesco, Esq. will be presenting a webinar sponsored by The Institute for Professional Development entitled, “Employee Leaves of Absence Update-Answers To The Most Frequently Asked Questions.”  This follow-up to the March 29, 2023 Webinar entitled “Employee Leaves of Absences: What Public Employers Need To Know” will answer attendees questions and discuss employee leaves of absences in further detail. For additional information and registration, please click here.

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No Denial of Access Under OPRA Where Request Submitted to Incorrect Entity

On April 20, 2023 the New Jersey Appellate Division decided an Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”) matter in the case of Owoh v. City of Camden, 2023 N.J. Super. Unpub.  LEXIS 597 (App. Div. Apr. 20, 2023).  The Appellate Division determined the City of Camden (“City”) did not deny access to requested police records and the City was not obligated to retrieve the records from the County of Camden (“County”) a separate public entity.  The firm successfully represented the City on appeal. Plaintiff-Respondents, Rotimi Owoh, o/b/o African American Data and Research Institute, and Baffi Simmons (“Owoh”) filed an OPRA request […]

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Upcoming Webinar: “Employee Leaves of Absence-What Public Employers Need to Know”

By on February 15, 2023 in NJ School Law, Seminars with 0 Comments

On Wednesday, March 29, 2023 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Lauren E. Tedesco, Esq. and Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq., will be presenting a webinar sponsored by The Institute for Professional Development entitled, “Employee Leaves of Absence-What Public Employers Need to Know”. This webinar will familiarize public employers on how to properly administer the laws relating to the various types of employee leaves of absences including the Family Medical Leave Act, the New Jersey Family Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and more. For additional information and registration, please click here.

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New Jersey Supreme Court Upholds Contract Provision Providing Leave To Work Full Time On Association Business

On February 3, 2021,the New Jersey Supreme Court in Moshe Rozenblit v. Marcia V. Lyles (A-41/42-19) (083434) unanimously upheld a provision in a Jersey City School District collective negotiations agreement (“CNA”) permitting two teachers employed and compensated by the district to work full-time on business of the Jersey City Education Association (“Association”). Taxpayers sued contending that the CNA’s release time provisions violated the New Jersey Constitution’s Gift Clause.  The trial court granted summary judgment to the district based upon the district’s right under N.J.S.A. 18A:30-7 to grant “payment of salary in cases of absence not constituting sick leave.”  The Appellate […]

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When “The Easy Way Out” Isn’t So Easy – Beware of Litigation from Non-Tenured Teachers Who Are Non-Renewed

As a practitioner who has spent most of his legal career as a school board attorney serving as general or labor counsel to boards of education, I address a trend that seems to be on the rise – litigation brought for employment discrimination in the wake of a non-tenured teacher being non-renewed at the conclusion of the teacher’s annual employment contract. In the world of school law, a “non-renewal” is distinct from a “termination,” “discharge,” or “firing” in both the legal and practical sense.  The latter tend to occur upon notice, and, in the public school context, almost always with […]

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Ban Parents from School Campuses Only as Last Resort

By on December 29, 2020 in NJ School Law, Students with 0 Comments

Lauren E. Tedesco-Dallas, Esq., a shareholder in the firm’s School Law Group, was recently interviewed by Special Ed Connection on the topic of banning parents from school campuses. To view the PDF version of the article, please click here.

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Executive Order 196 Exempts School Board Meetings from Capacity Limitations

By on November 17, 2020 in Legislation, NJ School Law with 0 Comments

On November 16, 2020, Governor Philip Murphy signed Executive Order 196 related to the COVID-19 pandemic.  A significant aspect of the Order is that legislative proceedings of school boards are expressly excluded from the capacity limits on gatherings in EO196 or any other applicable Executive Order.  Previously, it was unclear whether the legislative proceedings exemption to the capacity requirements applied to boards of education.  The Order clarifies that the exemption does apply.  Caution is urged because other requirements related to social distancing and mask wearing continue to apply and will have the effect of limiting capacity at board meetings.  The Order […]

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Regulations Impose Vast Obligations on Public Bodies Conducting Remote Meetings

On September 24, 2020, the Department of Community Affairs, Division of Local Government Services (“DLGS”) issued Local Finance Notice 2020-21 to further explain the new emergency regulations for remote public meetings held during a declared emergency.  The emergency regulations were promulgated by the Director of DLGS in accordance with Section 8 of newly enacted L. 2020, c. 34, and are codified as N.J.A.C. 5:39-1.1. through 1.7.  The emergency regulations aim to ensure continuity of government operations and transparency in conducting public business when an emergency requires a governing body, subject to the Open Public Meetings Act, to hold meetings remotely.  […]

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Passage of Chapter 79 Makes Subcontracting More Cumbersome

Passage of Chapter 79 places new restrictions on a school district’s ability to subcontract work performed by its existing employees.  Chapter 79, which was approved on September 11, 2020 and became effective immediately, prohibits a school district from entering into a subcontracting agreement affecting the employment of any employees in a collective bargaining unit during the term of an existing collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”). A district may enter into a subcontracting agreement for a period following the term of the current CBA if the district: provides written notice to the majority representative of employees in each collective bargaining unit which […]

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