What’s Important to Know About NJ This Week – 12/16/2023

Murphy Tries To Cram Six on State BOE During Lame Duck, Residents Fight Back on Property Seizures, Walsh Takes on Union County Payouts, Annual Teacher Evaluations May Be Eliminated, NJ Domestic Workers and Job Seekers Have Some Help on the Way

Governor Murphy Tries to Cram in Six on the State BOE

From NJ Education Report:

All current State Board of Education members are serving expired terms. Gov. Phil Murphy has attempted to replace them but has been stymied by the judicial process. Last week the Committee was scheduled, once again, to consider his nomination of education consultant Mary Bennett but her name was pulled from the agenda after questions were raised about her qualifications.

 

It is unclear why Gov. Murphy’s new nominees have not been publicly announced. (Read More)

NJ Residents Take Fight Over Improper Property Seizures to the Supreme Court

From the New Jersey Monitor:

The New Jersey plaintiffs — South Dennis resident Ronald Trout and Cape May Court House residents William Gaston and Christina Lazicki — argue the federal decision extends down to New Jersey’s Tax Sale Law, alleging they suffered unconstitutional takings when lienholders foreclosed on them, stripping them of home equity worth many times more than their debt.

“The crux of the problem is that the way that the statute is currently set up, it currently permits people — private investors and municipalities — to really prey on the economically vulnerable population and take advantage of the one asset that they have and take it all away from them for what, in very many times, is a pretty insignificant tax lien,” said Shauna Friedman, one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys. (Read More)

Kevin Walsh, Super Hero, Takes on Union County’s Payout of Nearly Half a Million to Department Heads

From The OSC Website:

An investigation found three top Union County officials were paid a total of $417,772 in extra stipends and tuition reimbursement, without following the public process required by law, the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) announced today.

 

By law, compensation of top county officials must be fixed by ordinance, with public notice, hearing, and vote.  OSC’s investigation found the County Manager and two Union County department heads—the Director of Public Works and the Director of Finance—received compensation on top of their six-figure base salaries that did not follow this public process, according to a letter OSC sent today to Union County Board of County Commissioners Chairman, Sergio Granados. (Read More)

Bill Eliminating Annual Teacher Evaluations in NJ Advances

From northjersey.com

The state’s largest teachers’ union, the New Jersey Education Association, was the only group in favor of the measure. Opponents said the bill was unnecessarily being rushed through the Legislature’s lame duck session, before newly elected politicians take office in January. The bill was introduced Dec. 11.

Bill A5877 would have teacher evaluations occur once every two or three years for tenured teachers rather than annually. For teachers who don’t meet the highest standards and are deemed “partially effective” or “ineffective,” the evaluations would occur every year, but on different schedules linked to their rating each year. (Read More)

NJ Domestic Workers Stand to Get Additional Protections

From the New Jersey Monitor:

The legislation would end a carveout that excludes domestic workers from the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination and one in the state’s wage and hour law that allows part-time workers providing child care in their employer’s home to be paid less than the state’s minimum wage.

 

The bill would extend a prohibition on non-disclosure agreements for domestic workers to include non-compete agreements, which generally bar workers from seeking similar work from a different employer for a period of years.

 

It would also codify requirements that domestic workers receive at least one paid 10-minute break for every four consecutive hours of work and require 30-minute lunch breaks unless the nature of the domestic work precludes breaks, as it might for some in-home caregivers. (Read More)

Bill Requiring Employers to Publish Salary Ranges on Job Listings Moves Forward

From northjersey.com:

The proposed Assembly Bill 3937 requires New Jersey businesses of 10 or more employees to include wage or salary information, or a compensation range, to be included in a job posting, as well as a description of all job benefits. (Read More)

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