Council of New Jersey State College Locals, NJSFT-AFT/AFL-CIO v. State Bd. of Higher Educ.
| Decision Date | 14 October 1981 |
| Docket Number | AFL-CI,A,NJSFT-AFT |
| Citation | 436 A.2d 1152,181 N.J.Super. 179 |
| Parties | , 1 Ed. Law Rep. 309 COUNCIL OF NEW JERSEY STATE COLLEGE LOCALS,/ppellant, v. STATE BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION, Respondent. |
| Court | New Jersey Superior Court — Appellate Division |
William A. Cambria, Union, for appellant (Sauer, Boyle, Dwyer, Canellis & Cambria, Union, attorneys).
Robert A. Fagella, Deputy Atty. Gen., for respondent State Bd. of Higher Ed. (James R. Zazzali, Atty. Gen., attorney; Erminie L. Conley, Asst. Atty. Gen., of counsel).
Before Judges MATTHEWS, PRESSLER and PETRELLA.
The opinion of the court was delivered by
MATTHEWS, P. J. A. D.
This appeal involves the validity of regulations enacted by the New Jersey State Board of Higher Education (hereafter Board) governing uniform procedures for reductions in the work force at the state colleges which may be necessary because of fiscal exigency.
The regulations adopted by respondent Board, we are informed, constitute the first comprehensive and uniform policy applicable at the eight state colleges for reducing the number of employees, determining appropriate layoff units and establishing reemployment rights at any of the institutions in the event of a fiscal emergency. We are advised by the Attorney General that the need for such a policy, addressed to the educational and academic needs of the entire state college community, has become pressing in recent years due to the escalating operating costs of the institutions. Because a state of fiscal exigency does not presently exist at any of the state colleges, the Board considered this an appropriate time to plan for such an eventuality.
The regulations enacted by the Board represent a comprehensive attempt "to preserve academic integrity of the institutions while respecting the rights of the individual (employees) involved" in the event of a fiscal exigency at any of the state colleges. This is accomplished by establishing a process for determining and declaring a fiscal emergency and preparing and implementing a plan for meeting the crisis, N.J.A.C. 9:2-3.1, -3.2; by offering a framework to guide the Board in deciding how to reduce expenses while still maintaining the academic integrity of the college, N.J.A.C. 9:2-3.5; by requiring consideration of alternatives other than layoffs, N.J.A.C. 9:2-3.2; by demanding that any layoffs which do result "be based on academic or administrative considerations" and that programs and functions of major instructional or administrative importance be protected, N.J.A.C. 9:2-3.5; by requiring consideration of possible impacts on affirmative action, N.J.A.C. 9:2-3.4; by calling for consultation with the college community before formulating any plans to allow input from those who may be affected, N.J.A.C. 9:2-3.3 by providing notice to the bargaining unit's representative and fulfillment of agreed-upon contractual obligations, N.J.A.C. 9:2-3.5, and by requiring notice of staff reductions and efforts directed at the reemployment of those who are laid off, N.J.A.C. 9:2-3.6, -3.11. These procedures for declaring a fiscal exigency and reducing the work force have not been invoked by any of the state colleges.
The Council first argues that the regulations in question are materially intertwined with terms and conditions of employment and should have been negotiated prior to adoption. In support of this contention the Council presents various sub-arguments.
Council contends, first, that the preemption doctrine as set forth in State v. State Supervisory Employees Ass'n, 78 N.J 54, 393 A.2d 233 (1978), is inapplicable to the present proceedings because the Department of Higher Education is an employer of the employees affected by the regulations. The Council particularly emphasizes that the Department has acted as an employer in its relationship with it in the areas of negotiation and grievance processing. It draws our attention to N.J.A.C. 9:2-5.5 and submits that the Board itself has determined that the Department serves an employer function. N.J.A.C. 9:2-5.5, in applicable part, provides:
(a) Employer. For purposes of collective negotiation on all economic issues and all issues determined by the employer to be applicable to all public institutions of higher education, the employer's representative is a Negotiating Committee comprised of representatives of the institution or institutions, the Department of Higher Education, and the office of the State Negotiator. On all other issues the employer's representative is the governing board of the public institution of higher education.
The Legislature has set up a comprehensive scheme giving the Board of Higher Education broad authority over the system of public higher education in this State. Thus, N.J.S.A. 18A:3-13 provides:
It shall be the duty of the board of higher education to advance long-range planning for the system of higher education as a whole in the state; establish general policy for the governance of the separate institutions; coordinate the activities of the individual institutions which, taken together, make up the system of higher education in New Jersey; and maintain general financial oversight of the state system of higher education. The board shall not administer the individual institutions of higher education, its own administration being specifically reserved unto each of such institutions.
Within the limitations imposed by general legislation applicable to all agencies of the state and the provisions of this chapter, the board is hereby granted exclusive jurisdiction over higher education in this state and its constituent parts and the requisite power to do all things necessary and proper to accomplish the aims and carry out the duties provided by law.
Also, N.J.S.A. 18A:3-14 provides in part that the Board of Higher Education shall:
h. Set policy on salary and fringe benefits, and establish general personnel policies for the public institutions of higher education; ....
In addition, N.J.S.A. 18A:3-15 states The board of higher education shall adopt bylaws and may make and enforce, alter and repeal rules for its own government and for implementing and carrying out this law.
Further, N.J.S.A. 18A:3-16 provides:
The board of higher education shall have all powers, in addition to those specifically provided by law, requisite to the performance of its duties.
Preliminarily, we note that under the New Jersey Employer-Employee Relations Act, L. 1968, c. 303, § 2, N.J.S.A. 34:13A-1 et seq., public employers and employees are to negotiate with respect to grievances and terms and conditions of employment. It is well settled, however, that the right of public employees to negotiate conditions of employment with public employers is not absolute. See Ridgefield Park Ed. Ass'n v. Ridgefield Park Bd. of Ed., 78 N.J. 144, 393 A.2d 278 (1978); State v. State Supervisory Employees Ass'n, supra. Recently, this court in Local 195, IFPTE, AFL-CIO v. State, 176 N.J. Super. 85, 422 A.2d 424 (App.Div.1980), after citing the above two cases, observed:
... (T)here are but two categories into which a matter sought to be negotiated may fall, a mandatorily negotiable term and condition of employment or a nonnegotiable matter of managerial prerogative. But even an item that is a term and condition of employment will not be negotiable if preempted by specific statute or regulation. (at 90, 422 A.2d 424 (emphasis supplied))
In fact, the Council here recognizes that under "normal circumstances" and as set forth in State v. State Supervisory Employees Ass'n, negotiations of terms and conditions of employment are preempted by adoption of administrative regulations controlling the identical subject matter.
The Council, however, maintains that the present circumstances are unique because the Department of Higher Education is an employer of the employees affected by the regulations. Although at times the Board apparently assumes a limited employer role, 1 in the instant circumstances the Board is acting in its statutorily delegated rule-making capacity. This role, as pointed out by the State, is not unlike the Civil Service Commission's supervisory role which was deemed appropriate in State Supervisory Employees Ass'n, and the State Board of Education's exercise of its regulatory authority over local school districts in Bethlehem Bd. of Ed. v. Bethlehem Ed. Ass'n, 177 N.J.Super. 479, 427 A.2d 80 (App.Div.1981).
The Council next contends that the Board had an obligation to negotiate with respect to the regulations in question because those regulations affect terms and conditions of employment. In support of its position, the Council relies almost exclusively on Ass'n of State Col. Fac. v. N.J. Bd. of Ed., 66 N.J. 72, 328 A.2d 235 (1974).
In Ass'n of State Col. Fac., guidelines adopted by the Board of Higher Education with respect to outside employment were challenged. The Supreme Court upheld this court's decision to strike some of the questioned guidelines, pending negotiation, as "they directly affected the work and welfare of the college employees, related to the terms and conditions of their employment within the contemplation of the statute, and did not affect any major educational policy." 66 N.J. at 76-77, 328 A.2d 235. Contrary to what the Council urges, Ass'n of State Col. Fac. v. N.J. Bd. of Ed., is not a wide-sweeping decision. Rather, it appears that the court intended to confine the decision there to the particular facts before it.
On the other hand, State Supervisory Employees Ass'n is a more comprehensive opinion which specifically dealt with the issue of the preclusive effect of specific regulations upon collective negotiations. Most recently, this court, in Bethlehem Bd. of Ed., reaffirmed the wide-reaching effect of State Supervisory Employees Ass'n. There, we rejected the argument that the holding in State Supervisory Employees was to be confined to Civil Service Commission regulation...
To continue reading
Request your trial