In an Initial Decision dated May 5, 2016, Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) W. Todd Miller granted Atlantic City Board of Education’s Motion for Summary Decision, finding that the Board did not violate two former supervisor’s tenure and seniority rights when the Board, through the State-appointed Monitor, approved a reduction in force that eliminated supervisory positions and rehired the former supervisors under new titles in accordance with their tenure and seniority rights while reducing their salaries consistent with their new titles. The former supervisors argued that they were transferred from 12 month employees to 10 month employees and thus their salaries should have been prorated.
The ALJ, however, was persuaded that the former supervisors were not transferred and reassigned into new positions but rather they were effectively fired and rehired into new titles. As such, there was no requirement to maintain their former supervisory salaries because their prior positions had been eliminated. The Board argued that failure to reduce the salaries would undermine the reduction in force law and render a reduction in force for economic reasons meaningless. The Initial Decision now goes to the Commissioner of Education who has 45 days to adopt, modify or reject it. Cooper Levenson attorney Christopher A. Barrett filed the summary decision brief on behalf of the Atlantic City Board of Education.
