With school elections firmly behind us, Boards of Education are now looking forward to their January re-organization meetings and, in some cases, new Board members taking office. But as everyone knows, December can be a hectic rush, with more and more competing demands for our increasingly limited time and attention. As a result, sometimes the requirements of N.J.S.A. 18A:12-1.2(a), that every newly elected or appointed member of a Board of Education must complete a criminal history background investigation “within 30 days of election or appointment,” can be overlooked in all the holiday hubbub.
In the wake of recent high-profile excessive force incidents, police departments are being pressured by the public for greater accountability and transparency in law enforcement. Police departments, cities, towns, and other municipalities have become subject to seemingly endless scrutiny, and they have seen a sharp rise in law enforcement watchdog groups, media coverage, investigations by the Department of Justice, and protests. Police Departments have responded with police-worn body-cameras, but they have still seen an increase in cases of citizens using cell phones and other devices to record police encounters. But, is that legal?
With school budgets as constrained as they are, public schools are always looking for ways to be more efficient in their operations. However, according to a recent decision by the Commissioner of Education, filing “consolidated” tenure charges against multiple staff members – even when those staff members all allegedly engaged in a common course of misconduct -- is not the way to do it.
With recent media coverage creating a renewed awareness of sexual harassment in the workplace, allegations are on the rise. In New Jersey and Pennsylvania, employers may be liable for sexual harassment that takes place inside or outside of the workplace between employees. There is also exposure if harassment occurs between an employee and a third party who interacts with the company.
As Daylight Savings Time ends this weekend, fire departments across New Jersey are reminding residents to check their home smoke detectors.
That’s a good idea, and it’s also a good time for New Jersey school districts to check and maintain their automated external defibrillators (AEDs), which have been required by Janet’s Law, N.J.S.A. 18A:40-41a, to be present in every school since September 1, 2014.
One of the biggest controversies dominating the sports world right now is the “take a knee” protests during the national anthem. The movement that started with the NFL has expanded to other professional sports - and is now starting to appear in public schools.
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued a decision that could potentially expand the liability of school districts for the misconduct of even ostensibly “low level” employees, if those employees are deemed to have supervisory authority over other employees.
As school board members know, 2011 marked a significant change in how bullying, harassment, and intimidation were dealt with in New Jersey schools. The “Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act” created a new definition of harassment, intimidation, and bullying (“HIB”); and, significantly for school boards, created new investigation, reporting, discipline, and appeal procedures that must be followed when there are reports of bullying.
On September 7, 2017, Equifax, one of the largest consumer credit reporting agencies in the United States, reported that hackers may have accessed the personal data of 143 million American consumers. This personal data included social security numbers, birth dates, addresses and driver’s license numbers. The breach also compromised credit card numbers for 209,000 consumers, and dispute documents with personal identifying information for 182,000 consumers. This stolen information can be used to commit identity theft which can cost significant time and money to correct.
On August 7, 2017, Governor Chris Christie signed in to law P.L.2017, c.206 ("Act"), which permits fire districts in the State of New Jersey ("State") to move the date of their annual fire district election to the date of the November general election. Presently, N.J.S.A. 40A:14-72 requires that an election shall be held annually on the third Saturday in February in each established fire district in the State. Pursuant to the Act, the Board of Fire Commissioners of each fire district may now adopt a resolution moving the annual fire district election to the date of the general election in November.