You may have seen press releases regarding the ability to furlough
public employees and the so-called victory by the Corzine
administration. While State employees can be furloughed on scheduled
days, the staggered layoffs that would impact our municipal fire
departments have been found by this court to be in conflict with current
State statute. So we were in this case thus far victorious and as of
now, Municipalities cannot unilaterally impose involuntary layoffs,.
Presidents and delegates should be aware for purposes of negotiations.
David Fox argued brilliantly on our behalf and in the name of "Public
Safety" that local administrations were wrongfully given temporary
authority to stagger layoffs for police and fire. This was "stayed" by
the three judge panel. We (NJFMBA) will continue to argue this point as
the discussions move to address the permanent rule. But as of right now
we can claim victory in this forum and will use the courts' finding to
bolster our argument. Diplomatic and political avenues are being pursued
to make our position clear and ultimately protect our membership from
furloughs. ___
Every effort will be made to keep all members up to date in this
ever-changing legal and political battle. ___ Bill Lavin
