On November 29, 2016, the New Jersey Supreme Court In the Matter of Robbinsville Township Board of Education v. Washington Township Education Association ruled that boards of education must negotiate employees’ work hours and cannot unilaterally reduce those hours even in times of economic crisis.
The collective negotiation agreement between the Robbinsville Township Board of Education (“Board”) and the Washington Township Education Association (“Association”) stated that teachers’ salaries would be based on 188 days for new teachers and 185 days for all other teachers. In 2010, a series of events caused a significant reduction in the Board’s funding. As a result, the Board requested the Association to reopen negotiations to address the changing circumstances – yet the Association declined each time. In May 2010, the Board imposed a three day furlough on the remaining teachers, reducing their work year from 185 to 182 days.
Thereafter, the Association filed an unfair practice charge with the Public Employment Relations Commission (“PERC”). PERC found in favor of the Board reasoning that the temporary furlough was a non-negotiable managerial prerogative. The Association appealed, and the Appellate Division upheld PERC’s decision.
The New Jersey Supreme Court disagreed with the Board and reversed the Appellate Division. The Supreme Court explained that the Appellate Division improperly relied on Borough of Keyport v. International Union of Operating Engineers for the proposition that a public employer may impose temporary layoffs or furloughs during times of economic crisis. The Supreme Court emphasized that the public employer’s decision to impose a furlough in Keyport was authorized by an emergency regulation enacted in response to the 2008 economic crisis. In contrast, no such regulation permitted the Board in this case to unilaterally reduce the teachers’ workdays.
In sum, the Supreme Court found that even during times of economic crisis, boards of education must negotiate employees’ work hours and cannot unilaterally alter those hours.
