Appellate Division Oral Argument of the Week: Are Disciplinary Grievance Arbitrations in the Public Sector Preempted by 2020 Regulations Under Title IX of the Education Amendment Acts of 1972? | NJ Appellate Law Blog – NJ Appellate Lawyer Bruce D. Greenberg blogs about Appeals and Appellate Law Practice

Tomorrow, December 3, Part F will hear oral argument in In re Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey and AFSCME Local 888. The issue is whether the Public Employment Relations Commission (“PERC”) correctly denied petitions by Rutgers to restrain two disciplinary grievance arbitrations under a collective negotiations agreement.

Rutgers contends on appeal that the arbitrations were preempted by the 2020 implementing regulations of Title IX of the Education Amendment Acts of 1972, 20 U.S.C. §1681 et seq. PERC, unsurprisingly, disagrees, drawing a distinction between pre-disciplinary Title IX investigation and adjudication, on the one hand, and subsequent post-disciplinary grievance challenging disciplinary action on the other hand. AFSCME Local 888, acting on behalf of its affected members, agrees with PERC, for multiple reasons stated in AFSCME’s brief.

The briefs on this appeal, which will be of particular interest to those involved in labor and employment matters, are available here. The oral argument can be viewed here.

The Supreme Court Takes Up a Paramedics Immunity Case

The Supreme Court announced late yesterday that it has granted certification in Almonte v. Township of Union. The question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk's office, is "Under the circumstances presented, are the paramedics entitled to immunity because they provided advanced life support services "in accordance with this act" as required by N.J.S.A. 26:2K-14, specifically, N.J.S.A. 26:2K-10(a), which requires that the paramedic "maintains direct voice communication with and is taking orders from a licensed physician or physician directed registered professional nurse"?...

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The Third Circuit Returns to New Jersey Appellate Law Blog

When this blog began, in October 2010, it covered goings-on in the Supreme Court of New Jersey, the Appellate Division, and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, with occasional posts about the Supreme Court of the United States. That continued for many years. More recently, however, it became too difficult to keep up with all of those three courts, and coverage of the Third Circuit disappeared virtually entirely. But since the Supreme Court and the Appellate Division have not published many decisions recently (a circumstance that is certain to change shortly), this blog will resume covering the Third Circuit at least on occasion, beginning today....