On March 2, 2017, the New Jersey Appellate Division issued an unpublished decision in Hillsborough Township Board of Education v. Hillsborough Township Education Association in which it affirmed the Public Employment Relations Commission’s (“PERC”) determination that an issue involving tuition reimbursement was preempted by statute and therefore not arbitrable. This case arose from employees whose requests for tuition reimbursement were denied because the courses were not related to the employees’ current or future job responsibilities pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:6-8.5.
In 2013, four individuals employed by the Hillsborough Township Board of Education (“Board”) sought tuition reimbursement from the Board for various courses and seminars they pursued. When their requests were denied, they filed a grievance. In March 2014, the Board found that the courses do not apply to the employees’ current or future job responsibilities and therefore denied the requests.
Thereafter, the Hillsborough Township Education Association (“HTEA”) filed a Request for Submission to a Panel of Arbitrators with PERC on behalf of the employees. In response, the Board filed a Petition for Scope of Negotiations Determination arguing that N.J.S.A. 18A:6-8.5 preempts arbitration on this issue. PERC agreed with the Board, and the HTEA appealed PERC’s decision to the Appellate Division.
On appeal, PERC reviewed the plain meaning of N.J.S.A. 18A:6-8.5, which provides, in pertinent part:
In order for a board of education to provide to an employee tuition assistance for coursework taken at an institution of higher education or additional compensation… [t]he tuition assistance or additional compensation shall be provided only for a course or degree related to the employee’s current or future job responsibilities.
In addition, N.J.S.A. 18A:6-8.5 requires that the employee obtain approval from the Superintendent prior to enrolling in the course for which he or she seeks tuition assistance. If the request is denied, the employee may appeal such denial to the board of education. Moreover, the Appellate Division relied upon Borough of Keyport v. International Union of Operating Engineers, 222 N.J. 314 (2015) for the proposition that a subject which is fully or partially preempted by statute or regulation is not negotiable and therefore not arbitrable.
Accordingly, the Appellate Division reasoned that N.J.S.A. 18A:6-8.5 is a mandatory statute that expressly sets a limit on whether tuition assistance is available. Further, the Appellate Division found that the statute leaves nothing to the discretion of the Board as the public employer. Therefore, the issue cannot be subject to negotiations or arbitration.
The Appellate Division also advised that rather than filing a grievance, an employee would first need to challenge the Superintendent’s denial of the tuition reimbursement request to the board of education as set forth in N.J.S.A. 18A:6-8.5(b). Thereafter, any further appeal could be filed with the Commissioner of Education.
