Within the Law
NEW JERSEY COPS ■ MARCH 2014
63
Compensation for essential employees during
a State of Emergency: Unfair and Inequitable
Donald C. Frank M.
Barbati, Jr Crivelli
As we sit writing this article, the
snow is falling with intensity and
Gov. Christie has declared a weatherrelated “State of Emergency” for the
fourth time this winter. Given the frequency in which the governor has
declared a State of Emergency during the past two months, we thought
it important to revisit the impact
these three words have on essential
law
enforcement
employees
throughout the Garden State.
The governor’s declaration of a State of Emergency results in the
closure of the state and, often, county and local government offices.
In turn, this results in the vast majority of state, county and local
government employees receiving a paid day off for the time the
State of Emergency is in effect. However, law enforcement officers,
deemed to be “essential” employees, are required to report to work
during days declared as a State of Emergency. Significantly, however, those essential employees required to work are compensated
at their regular rate of pay, while their civilian counterparts receive
an unexpected paid “holiday.”
N.J.A.C. 4A:6-2.5 addresses payment for essential employees
during inclement weather and/or emergency conditions. In pertinent part, the regulation provides:
(a) The governor or his or her designee, in consultation with
the Office of Emergency Management, shall determine
whether a period of inclement weather or other adverse situation requires the curtailment of state operations and services and whether emergency procedures need be
implemented…
(d) An essential attendance employee who is required to
work in accordance with an Essential Employee Attendance
Plan shall be compensated at the regular rate of pay for such
work…
[N.J.A.C. 4A:6-2.5 (emphasis added).]
Under the express wording of N.J.A.C. 4A:6-2.5(d), essential
employees who are required to work during a State of Emergency
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