Christie tries to change overtime calculation
He’ s at it again. In the September issue of NJ COPS Magazine, we reported on the Christie administration’ s efforts to change longstanding rules regarding how accumulated time for sick, vacation and personal days is paid. In another effort to change the rules to benefit public employers, Governor Christie’ s Civil Service Commission has proposed a new regulation regarding how eligibility for overtime is calculated. This rule proposal affects mostly state employees. We testified at the recent public hearing on behalf of the State PBA in opposition to the proposed rule, and we are also submitting a formal position statement objecting to it.
Historically, public employers and employees have been able to negotiate how overtime is calculated. For many collective negotiations agreements, overtime is due in any week in which the employee was paid for more than 40 hours, not just for hours the employee actually worked. In this situation, an employee receives credit for paid time off because it is considered working time. The Civil Service Commission’ s proposed change is subtle but significant. For state employees, it would no longer count paid sick days, vacation days and personal days toward eligibility for overtime. Instead, it would count only hours the employee has actually“ worked,” rather than was“ paid” before overtime would kick in.
Our position does not require discussion of the merits of current law. Instead, our focus is on whether the Civil Service Commission should prohibit negotiations on the topic. Right now, the state of New Jersey and local public employers are permitted to enter into agreements with their unions which allow paid time, whether worked or not, to be included in an overtime calculation. It is a negotiable subject. The proposed rule, however, would prohibit future negotiations with the state on the topic, thus making it impossible to include paid days off in determining eligibility for overtime. If adopted, the rule would become effective immediately if there is no agreement in effect, or at the expiration of any agreement in effect when the rule is adopted and becomes effective.
We understand our objections may fall on deaf ears, and that the Commission may adopt its proposed rule before the end of the year. If it does so, it will be up to a new administration to decide whether to retain the rule – an exercise which would be unnecessary if the current governor just left the stage quietly. We will keep you posted.
Rule proposal will slow employer approval
of contracts
In another effort by the Christie administration to make life more difficult for public sector unions as his term winds down, the Local Finance Board of the Division of Local Government Services( LGS) has issued a new rule proposal concerning procedures for approving new contracts which will affect all PBA Locals and all members. Under the guise of a claimed desire to increase transparency, the rule proposal is based upon a 2007 statute which required LGS to adopt rules consistent with the statute. LGS did nothing for 10 years, and PBA Locals and public employers seemed to negotiate and approve contracts without too many problems with the approval process. Now, after all these years, this rule proposal is intended to comply with that statute. The timing is certainly suspect.
The proposal concerns how a governing body must approve compensation changes, including negotiated contracts. It requires a public meeting with advertising, notice and the opportunity for public comment on any proposed
compensation changes before the governing body can take action to approve a new contract. This would include, for example, a governing body’ s consideration, and approval, of a memorandum of agreement for a new contract. It exempts any contract which is awarded by an interest arbitrator.
The rule proposal also requires the governing body’ s chief financial officer to complete a compensation disclosure form and make the form available to the general public. The compensation form includes information about salary and benefit costs for each year of the agreement. Copies of the proposed compensation changes, along with the disclosure form, must be made available to the general public beginning at least seven calendar days before the date of the public meeting. There must be at least 10 calendar days’ notice of the public meeting. Then, the governing body action to approve the new contract must occur no earlier than the 10th calendar day following the meeting at which the measure was introduced and discussed. In other words, the MOA cannot be voted on at the meeting at which it is introduced and discussed. It is important to note that according to the statute and the rule proposal, any action taken that is not in compliance with this procedure is“ null and void.”
Apart from the increased public focus on these issues, one effect of the rule will be that it will take longer for governing bodies to ratify memoranda of agreement for new collective bargaining agreements. On behalf of the State PBA, we filed objections to this proposal. However, we expect that LGS will move expeditiously to adopt the proposal before the end of the year. Stay tuned. d www. njcopsmagazine. com ■ OCTOBER 2017 11