A Capehart Scatchard Blog

Tag: employee

Appellate Division Upholds Arbitrator’s Decision to Limit Increment Withholding

On January 28, 2019, the Appellate Division affirmed an arbitrator’s decision to limit the withholding of a teacher’s increment to one year. In Trenton Board of Education v. Trenton Education Association, the Trenton Board of Education (“Board”) approved the withholding of a teacher’s increment for an indefinite period of time. The Trenton Education Association (“Association”) challenged that decision. During the 2015-2016 school year, the Board employed Carmel Gabriel as a middle school teacher. The principal, who was Gabriel’s direct supervisor, and vice principal cited him for various deficiencies, such as problems with his teaching practices, failure to attend mandatory meetings, and […]

Share

Continue Reading »

Appellate Division Rules Teacher Not Entitled to Tenure in Extracurricular Assignment

*Please note that on January 20, 2020, the New Jersey Supreme Court reversed the Appellate Division in this matter. You can find our blog article on the Supreme Court’s decision here.* On December 17, 2018, the New Jersey Appellate Division in Melnyk v. Board of Education of the Delsea Regional High School District upheld the Commissioner of Education’s decision that a teacher who already has attained tenure based upon his or her years of service in a particular position cannot also acquire separate tenure in an extracurricular assignment if the teacher is not required to possess a different certificate other […]

Share

Continue Reading »

Districts Ordered to Pay Increments Upon Expiration of Contract

Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. The question of whether a school district with a collective bargaining agreement of less than five years in duration is required to pay the increment for teaching staff members at the expiration of the agreement has existed since the amendment of N.J.S.A. 18:29-4.1.  The amendment permits school districts to adopt a salary policy schedule for a period of up to five years. In In the Matter of Englewood Board of Education and Englewood Teachers’ Association (decided October 29, 2018) and In the Matter of Cliffside Park Board of Education and Cliffside Park Education Association (decided […]

Share

Continue Reading »

Commissioner of Education Rules Bedside Tutor Position Not Eligible for Tenure Accrual

On November 9, 2018, the New Jersey Commissioner of Education (“Commissioner”) concurred with an Administrative Law Judge’s finding in Mirda v. Board of Education of the Union County Educational Services Commission that the position of Bedside Tutor fell within the substitute teacher exception and is not eligible for tenure accrual. The Union County Educational Services Commission Board of Education (“Commission”) provides various services to school districts in Union County, including one-to-one bedside instruction at hospitals to students enrolled in Union County schools. Bedside Tutors are paid at an hourly rate, do not receive benefits or paid holidays, and are not guaranteed a […]

Share

Continue Reading »

Appellate Division Affirms School Calendar is Non-Negotiable

On August 28, 2018, the New Jersey Appellate Division in West Morris Regional High School Board of Education v. Morris Regional Education Association, affirmed the Public Employment Relations Commission’s (“PERC”) determination that the start and end date of the school calendar is a non-negotiable managerial prerogative. The dispute involved the collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”) between the West Morris Regional High School Board of Education (“Board”) and the West Morris Education Association (“Association”). During their negotiations of a successor CBA, the Board sought to remove the following phrase from the CBA: “teachers…shall be employed from September 1 through June 30.” The […]

Share

Continue Reading »

PERC Restrains Two Districts from Demanding New Dues Authorizations from Union Members

Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. The Public Employment Relations Commission (“PERC”) recently granted interim relief restraining two school districts from requiring that union members file new dues deduction authorizations. In Delanco Board of Education and Delanco Township Education Association (Docket No. CO-2019-043), school administrators informed the Association President that Board counsel advised that Janus v. AFSCME[1] required the Board to obtain written authorization from all employees in order to continue making membership dues deductions from unit employees’ compensation.  The Superintendent provided the Association President with a copy of a draft letter to the Association’s members requesting the new authorization and represented […]

Share

Continue Reading »

N.J. Supreme Court Reverses Blanket Rice Notice Requirement for Personnel Actions at Public Meetings

By: Cameron R. Morgan, Esq. Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. On June 21, 2018, the New Jersey Supreme Court has reversed an Appellate Division ruling that many felt had overly burdened public bodies in the administration of their duties and gone beyond the requirements of the Open Public Meetings Act, N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 to -21 (“OPMA”).  Kean Fed’n of Teachers v. Morell, ___ N.J. ___, No. A-84-16 (2018).  Under the seminal decision in Rice v. Union County Reg’l High Sch. Bd. of Educ., 155 N.J. Super. 64, 73 (App. Div. 1977), public bodies seeking to invoke the OPMA exception allowing them […]

Share

Continue Reading »

New Jersey Equal Pay Act Takes Effect July 1, 2018

By: Kelly E. Adler, Esq. Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. If you are a New Jersey employer and you have never heard of the Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act (“Equal Pay Act”), pay close attention. At the end of March 2018, the New Jersey Legislature sent the Equal Pay Act to the Governor of New Jersey, Phil Murphy, for his signature.  Governor Murphy signed the bill into law on April 24, 2018.  The Equal Pay Act will go into effect on July 1, 2018. Why is this legislation such a big deal for New Jersey employers? This is sweeping legislation and is […]

Share

Continue Reading »

Appellate Division Addresses Rights of Part-Time Teachers Under Tenure Act

Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. Educational service commissions sometimes employ part-time teachers to work in public and non-public schools. The Sussex County Educational Services Commission (“Commission”) reduced the number of hours worked by part-time teachers but did not alter the hourly rate of pay. In Zimmerman et al. v. Sussex County Educational Services Commission two teachers challenged the action arguing that their tenure and seniority rights were violated. The Commissioner of Education (“Commissioner”) sided with the Commission by determining that the decrease in work hours did not reduce the teachers’ compensation or trigger their seniority rights under the New Jersey Tenure […]

Share

Continue Reading »

A Reminder from the Appellate Division on RIFs and Tenured Employees

On August 17, 2017, the New Jersey Appellate Division issued an unpublished opinion in which it upheld the Atlantic City Board of Education’s (“Board”) decision to change the employment of two supervisors from twelve-month positions to ten-month positions due to a reduction in force (“RIF”). This case highlights an important interplay between RIFs and tenure rights of public school employees. The Board employed Lourdes Vidal-Turner and C. Dedra Williams (“Petitioners”) as teachers for numerous years. The Board then promoted each of them to a twelve-month supervisory position in which they later acquired tenured. The State Appointed Fiscal Monitor for the […]

Share

Continue Reading »

Top