Background Employment as a teacher and in many other New Jersey public school positions requires that the employee hold a certificate to work in their positions. However, under certain circumstances, these certificates can be suspended or revoked, rendering the employee ineligible to work in their chosen profession. The New Jersey…
Arbitrators make the final decision in hearings on tenure charges. Appeals are limited. However, the scope of their powers to fashion appropriate discipline was open to question. As I wrote last year, the Appellate Division of New Jersey’s Superior Court ruled in the case of Sanjuan v. School District of…
New Jersey employment law in the public sector incorporates the doctrine of collateral estoppel, which in some cases bars relitigating issues already decided in another forum. This applies to administrative appeals of employment action. A New Jersey appellate court recently examined this doctrine in the context of the revocation of…
One of the most difficult New Jersey employment law issues confronted by government employees is that they are sometimes drawn into legal action because of actions taken in the course of their employment. Defending such charges can cause significant expense and hardship to government employees. For teachers, administrators and other…
A recent New Jersey employment law decision in the case of A.B. vs. Board of Education of the City of Hackensack, Bergen County illustrates the dangers of public employees, especially teachers, posting suggestive content on their social media accounts, and the reach and consequences of the New Jersey “Pass the…
New Jersey employment law has few more contentious areas than tenure rights for public school teachers. I previously wrote about the Appellate Division decision in Parsells v. Board of Education of the Borough of Somerville. The case was subsequently appealed, and the New Jersey Supreme Court upheld the Appellate Division’s…
UPDATE: This post was originally published on January 3, 2023. On May 22, 2023, the Supreme Court of New Jersey granted a writ of certiorari, meaning it will review the Appellate Division’s opinion in this case. The original post is below. Stand by for more. ORIGINAL POST: In many…
What is tenure? Under New Jersey employment law, tenure is an added layer of job protection for certain public school employees. What protections does tenure provide for eligible New Jersey education employees? New Jersey employment law provides that no education employee with tenure can be dismissed or have their…
The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination New Jersey employment law has long been at the forefront of prohibiting discrimination. Indeed, the Legislature adopted New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination in 1945, long before the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 first banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, and even…
In many areas of New Jersey employment law, the scope of an arbitrator’s powers is a significant question. This is particularly true in the adjudication of tenure charges against New Jersey teachers and principals. The Appellate Division of New Jersey’s Superior Court squarely addressed this issue in the recently published…