East Orange Educational Support Professionals' Association v. East Orange Board of Education

Summary

The Court held that an arbitrator's award requiring East Orange custodial employees to receive one and one-half times their salary in addition to regular pay for working during COVID-19 school closures directly contradicted N.J.S.A. 18A:7F-9(e)(1), which mandates that public school employees covered by a collective negotiations agreement be paid as provided in that agreement as if the school facilities remained open -- i.e., standard salary without the additional 150 percent. Because the award contradicted the statute's express language and its embodiment of public policy, it was not 'reasonably debatable' and could not stand; the Court applied the expressio unius canon to conclude that subsection (e)'s omission from the statute's non-preemption clause shows it overrides contrary CBA provisions, and declined to consider contradictory legislative history where the text is clear. The Court affirmed the Appellate Division's judgment vacating the arbitration award as to custodial employees. Chief Justice Rabner, dissenting, would have held the statute ambiguous, credited the Sponsors' Statements stating that nothing in the bill limited, superseded, or preempted CBA rights, and confirmed the award as at least reasonably debatable.