MIDDLESEX EDUCATION ASSOCIATION VS. MIDDLESEX BOARD OF EDUATION (C-000030-18, MIDDLESEX COUNTY AND STATEWIDE)

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE
APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION
This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court." Although it is posted on the
internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3.
SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
APPELLATE DIVISION
DOCKET NO. A-4367-17T2
MIDDLESEX EDUCATION
ASSOCIATION,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
MIDDLESEX BOARD OF
EDUCATION,
Defendant-Respondent.
____________________________
Argued May 30, 2019 – Decided June 25, 2019
Before Judges Koblitz, Currier and Mayer.
On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey,
Chancery Division, Middlesex County, Docket No.
C-000030-18.
David J. DeFillippo argued the cause for appellant
(Detzky, Hunter & DeFillippo, LLC, attorneys; David
J. DeFillippo, of counsel and on the briefs).
Anthony P. Sciarrillo argued the cause for respondent
(Sciarrillo, Cornell, Merlino, McKeever & Osborne,
LLC, attorneys; Anthony P. Sciarrillo, of counsel and
on the brief; Paul E. Griggs, on the brief).
PER CURIAM
Plaintiff Middlesex Education Association (Association) appeals from a
May 4, 2018 order denying its order to show cause (OTSC) to vacate a December
8, 2017 arbitration award and dismissing its complaint. We affirm.
The Association submitted two grievances, claiming respondent
Middlesex Board of Education (Board) assigned some teachers to excessive
duties and posts during the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 school years in violation
of their collective negotiations agreement (CNA). The Association filed a
demand for arbitration with the New Jersey Public Relations Commission
(PERC) regarding the grievances. The issue presented to the arbitrator was
whether the Board assigned duties in excess of the CNA for the 2015-2016 and
2016-2017 school years.
Three provisions in the applicable CNA are pertinent to this appeal. The
first is Section 3.3.6(c) of the CNA, which sets forth the scope of arbitration:
The arbitrator shall be limited to the issues submitted
and will not add to or subtract from or modify the terms
of the [CNA]. The arbitrator shall be without power or
authority to make any decision contrary to or
inconsistent with, or modifying or varying in any way
the terms of [the CNA] or applicable law or rules or
regulations having the force or effect of law. The
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arbitrator's decision shall not usurp the functions or
powers of the Board as provided by statute or be
inconsistent with the provisions of [the CNA].
The second provision relevant to this appeal is Section 6.1.2(e) of the
CNA. This section provides that "[p]reschool to Grade 5 teachers and Grade 6-
12 teachers who teach six (6) periods per day will be assigned no more than two
(2) duties per week."
The third provision implicated in this appeal is Section 6.1.1(c) of the
CNA. This section provides:
Teachers are required to be in their respective
classrooms or at their assigned posts fifteen (15)
minutes before the opening of the school day, and at
least five (5) minutes before the opening of the
afternoon session, and shall remain in their classrooms
thirty (30) minutes after the close of the students' day,
except if the teacher is on a duty assignment.
The CNA expressly limits teachers with full teaching loads to the
assignment of no more than two duties per week. There is no provision in the
CNA limiting the number of posts per week that may be assigned to a teacher.
Duty assignments are described as supervisory tasks or functions outside
of the classroom, such as "escorting, monitoring, supervising and assisting
students." Duties are usually during periods designated for "recess, in-school
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suspension, and lunch." The duration of a duty assignment is typically thirty to
forty minutes.
Post assignments are designated locations where teachers are dispatched
to oversee students arriving and departing from school, or travelling the
hallways between classes and lunch periods. Post assignments are ten to twenty
minutes in duration.
During the arbitration hearing, the arbitrator heard testimony from the
Association's witnesses, two school principals, and the Board's Superintendent.
The Association also presented charts of teachers who taught six class periods
per day who also had duty or post assignments. Based on these charts, the
Association claimed teachers were improperly assigned to more than the CNA's
limit of two duties per week.
The witnesses from the Board explained the differences between duties
and posts. According to the Board's witnesses, historically, teachers are
assigned to both duties and posts, although not all teachers have had both duties
and posts. One principal who testified for the Board described a post as a
location. He further explained a duty imposes greater responsibility on a teacher
than a post. The same principal also testified posts are no more than fifteen
minutes in length, while duties range from twenty-six to forty minutes in length.
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The other principal who testified for the Board explained that the
responsibilities associated with posts are less than those attendant to duties. He
noted posts last ten minutes while duties last thirty minutes.
According to the testimony from the Board's Superintendent, a post is
defined as a location. While posts are fifteen minutes or less in duration, the
Superintendent described duties as full-class periods that include recess, lunch,
and in-school suspension. The Superintendent noted teachers who were not
assigned homeroom classes were assigned posts.
After closing the record, in a December 8, 2017 written decision, the
arbitrator determined the CNA failed to specify whether the limitation imposed
on duty assignments also applied to post assignments and therefore the CNA
was ambiguous. Based on finding an ambiguity in the CNA, the arbitrator
analyzed the parties' past conduct to define duties and posts.
The arbitrator compared posts and duties, noting duties involved more
"record-keeping . . . and require[d] teachers to circulate among students to better
monitor them, as in recess and lunch duty." She also found the parties
"consistently interpreted duty assignments to not include posts . . . ." She
explained the distinction "makes sense" because teachers without homeroom
assignments are assigned to posts, and both assignments have the same ten to
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fifteen minute duration. Moreover, because teachers given duty assignments
receive additional compensation, the arbitrator reasoned that if teachers assigned
to posts were given additional compensation similar to duty assignments, there
would be a "compensation inequity[,]" giving certain teachers a benefit not
bargained for in the CNA.
The arbitrator concluded the parties had a "long-standing practice" of
interpreting duties separately from posts. Since 1998, the language in the CNA
regarding posts has remained the same. The Association signed successive
CNAs after 1998 without requesting inclusion of a definition for posts. Based
on the testimony and the parties' past practice, the arbitrator found the
Association failed to prove the Board's assignment of teachers to duties and
posts violated the CNA.
On February 22, 2018, the Association filed an OTSC and verified
complaint in the Chancery Division of the Superior Court, seeking to vacate the
arbitration award. The Association argued the award was procured by undue
means. In addition, the Association asserted the arbitrator "imperfectly
execut[ed]" her authority contrary to N.J.S.A. 2A:24-8.
The judge heard argument on the OTSC. The judge explained the
Association failed to satisfy the statutory grounds for vacating the arbitration
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award under N.J.S.A. 2A:24-8. In upholding the arbitrator's decision, the judge
found "the arbitrator's ultimate conclusion must be maintained as it was not
unfair or an unreasonable interpretation, and . . . the arbitrator's interpretation
of the [CNA] more than satisfies the reasonably debatable standard . . . ." An
order memorializing the judge's oral decision was entered on May 4, 2018.
On appeal, the Association argues the arbitrator's award was not
reasonably debatable and was procured by undue means. In addition, the
Association contends the CNA is unambiguous and the arbitrator improperly
relied on the parties' past conduct to conclude duties and posts were functionally
different.
We review a trial court's decision on a motion to vacate an arbitration
award de novo. See Yarborough v. State Operated Sch. Dist. of City of Newark,
455 N.J. Super. 136, 139 (App. Div. 2018) (citing Minkowitz v. Israeli, 433 N.J.
Super. 111, 136 (App. Div. 2013)). However, "[j]udicial review of an arbitration
award is very limited." Bound Brook Bd. of Educ. v. Ciripompa, 228 N.J. 4, 11
(2017) (quoting Linden Bd. of Educ. v. Linden Educ. Ass'n ex rel. Mizichko,
202 N.J. 268, 276 (2010)). "The public policy of this State favors arbitration as
a means of settling disputes that otherwise would be litigated in a court." Badiali
v. N.J. Mfrs. Ins. Group, 220 N.J. 544, 556 (2015) (citing Cty. Coll. of Morris
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Staff Ass'n v. Cty. Coll. of Morris, 100 N.J. 383, 390 (1985)). "[T]o ensure
finality, as well as to secure arbitration's speedy and inexpensive nature, there
exists a strong preference for judicial confirmation of arbitration awards."
Borough of E. Rutherford v. E. Rutherford PBA Local 275, 213 N.J. 190, 201
(2013) (alteration in original) (quoting Middletown Twp., PBA Local 124 v.
Twp. of Middletown, 193 N.J. 1,10 (2007)).
We apply "an extremely deferential review when a party to a collective
bargaining agreement has sought to vacate an arbitrator's award." Policemen's
Benevolent Ass'n, Local No. 11 v. City of Trenton, 205 N.J. 422, 428 (2011).
"In the public sector, an arbitrator's award will be confirmed 'so long as the
award is reasonably debatable.'" Linden Bd. of Educ., 202 N.J. at 276 (quoting
Middletown Twp. PBA Local 124, 193 N.J. at 11). An award is "reasonably
debatable" if it is "justifiable" or "fully supportable in the record." Policemen's
Benevolent Ass'n, 205 N.J. at 431 (quoting Kearny PBA Local No. 21 v. Town
of Kearny, 81 N.J. 208, 223-24 (1979)).
N.J.S.A. 2A:24-8 sets forth the grounds for vacating an arbitration award.
A court must vacate an arbitration award:
a. Where the award was procured by corruption, fraud
or undue means;
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b. Where there was either evident partiality or
corruption in the arbitrators, or any thereof;
c. Where the arbitrators were guilty of misconduct in
refusing to postpone the hearing, upon sufficient cause
being shown therefor, or in refusing to hear evidence,
pertinent and material to the controversy, or of any
other misbehaviors prejudicial to the rights of any
party; [or]
d. Where the arbitrators exceeded or so imperfectly
executed their powers that a mutual, final and definite
award upon the subject matter submitted was not made.
[N.J.S.A. 2A:24-8.]
The Association contends the arbitration award should be vacated in accordance
with N.J.S.A. 2A:24-8 (a) and (d).
"'[U]ndue means' ordinarily encompasses a situation in which the
arbitrator has made an acknowledged mistake of fact or law or a mistake that is
apparent on the face of the record." Borough of E. Rutherford, 213 N.J. at 203
(alteration in original) (quoting N.J. Office of Emp. Relations v. Commc'ns
Workers of Am., AFL-CIO, 154 N.J. 98, 111 (1998)).
An arbitrator exceeds her authority where she ignores "the clear and
unambiguous language of the agreement . . . ." City Ass'n of Supervisors &
Adm'rs v. State Operated Sch. Dist. of City of Newark, 311 N.J. Super. 300, 312
(App. Div. 1998). It is fundamental that, "an arbitrator may not disregard the
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terms of the parties' agreement, nor may he rewrite the contract for the parties."
Cty. Coll. of Morris, 100 N.J. at 391 (citation omitted). Moreover, "the
arbitrator may not contradict the express language of the contract . . . ." Linden
Bd. of Educ., 202 N.J. at 276.
"Although arbitrators may not look beyond the four corners of a contract
to alter unambiguous language, where a term is not defined, it may be necessary
for an 'arbitrator to fill in the gap and give meaning to that term.'" Policemen's
Benevolent Ass'n, 205 N.J. at 430 (quoting Linden Bd. of Educ., 202 N.J. at
277). If contract terms are unspecific or vague, "extrinsic evidence may be used
to shed light on the mutual understanding of the parties." Hall v. Bd. of Educ.
of Twp. of Jefferson, 125 N.J. 299, 305 (1991). "The past practice of the
contracting parties is entitled to 'great weight' in determining the meaning of
ambiguous or doubtful contractual terms." Id. at 306 (citing Kennedy v.
Westinghouse Elec. Corp., 16 N.J. 280, 294 (1954)).
Although the arbitrator is not free to contradict the express language of a
contract, "an arbitrator may 'weav[e] together' all those provisions that bear on
the relevant question in coming to a final conclusion." Policemen's Benevolent
Ass'n, 205 N.J. at 430 (alteration in original) (quoting N.J. Transit Bus
Operations, Inc. v. Amalgamated Transit Union, 187 N.J. at 546, 555 (2006)).
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"[S]o long as the contract, as a whole, supports the arbitrator's interpretation,
the award will be upheld." Ibid.
The parties disputed whether duties and posts were interchangeable terms.
Because those terms were not defined in the CNA, the arbitrator had to examine
the agreement as a whole and look to the parties' prior conduct to ascertain the
meaning of the two terms. Nothing in the language of the CNA suggests duties
and posts are interchangeable. The duration of time for a post assignment differs
from the time allocated for a duty assignment. Duty assignments also impose
greater responsibilities on a teacher compared to post assignments. Further, if
duties and posts were indistinguishable, teachers would have to be compensated
for post assignments and financial remuneration for post assignments is not
contemplated in the CNA. The arbitrator's decision, finding the terms to be
separate and distinct, was based on testimony from school officials and the past
conduct of the parties. Thus, the arbitrator's decision is justifiable and fully
supported by the record.
We are satisfied the arbitrator did not exceed her authority because the
award did not add a new term to the CNA. The arbitrator adopted a definition
of post, based on the past conduct of the parties, which was reasonably
debatable. The arbitrator's award was legally sufficient and fully supported by
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the evidence in the record. Thus, we discern no reason to disturb the trial court's
ruling affirming the arbitrator's award.
Affirmed.
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