Articles Tagged with New Jersey police officer attorneys

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A recent New Jersey employment law decision in the case of In the Matter of Wilfred Guzman,  Rockaway Township Police Department, examined what penalties are available against a Newpolice-hoboken-train-station Jersey civil service law enforcement officer.

Background

Wilfredo Guzman was a police officer with the Rockaway Township Police Department, a civil service jurisdiction.  Guzman was suspended without pay from April 24, 2017, when he was indicted, until June 19, 2019, when he was served with a Final Notice of Disciplinary Action which terminated him.  The termination was triggered by Officer Guzman’s guilty pleas to two counts of second degree official misconduct.  The Township also fined Officer Guzman the equivalent of 1040 hours worth of pay. Guzman appealed the fine to the New Jersey Office of Administrative Law (“NJOAL”) – New Jersey employment law allows civil service law enforcement officers to skip appeals to the New Jersey Civil Service Commission requesting that the appeal be considered a contested case, and instead file instead directly with the NJOAL.

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An important New Jersey employment law decision was recently issued by the Appellate Division in the case of Dibuonaventura vs. Washington Township.  Thesupreme-administrative-court-3565618_960_720-300x200 case has a long and tangled history, but this decision illustrates several important employment law rules affecting New Jersey government employees.

Background: Dibuonaventura I & II

Joseph Dibuonaventura was a police officer in Washington Township.  In 2012, he pulled over the Township’s former mayor and charged him with driving while under the influence of alcohol and refusing to take a breathalyzer test.  The former mayor disputed the charges and lodged internal affairs and criminal complaints against Officer Dibuonaventura.  Eventually the officer was indicted, and the Township suspended him pending the outcome of the criminal charges.  He was eventually found not guilty of all criminal charges by a jury.

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