Court will decide
Is accrued sick time deferred compensation?
The New Jersey Supreme Court recently
agreed to hear an appeal that concerns the
issue of whether accrued sick time is a form
of deferred compensation which cannot be
changed retroactively by contract. In Bari-
la, et al. v. Cliffside Park Board of Education,
the appellate division held that earned sick
time cannot be retroactively bargained
away. Our office handled the matter suc-
cessfully before the appellate division and
will defend the favorable decision in the
appeal before the New Jersey Supreme
Court.
The basic facts are as follows: The plaintiffs are current
and former teachers employed by the board, and each had
worked for the board for at least 10 years as of July 1, 2015.
Prior to 2015, a collective bargaining agreement between
the local board of education and the local education asso-
ciation (2012 agreement) incorporated a formula for pay-
ment of accrued sick leave on a teacher’s retirement up to a
maximum of $25,000. The same provision had been incor-
porated in previous collective negotiations agreements for
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NEW JERSEY COPS
■ FEBRUARY 2019
at least 20 years. When the 2012 agreement
expired, the parties negotiated a successor
agreement in 2015, which included a mod-
ification to the accrued sick leave formula.
The change resulted in a reduction of the
amount a teacher could receive upon re-
tirement from $25,000 to $15,000.
Each of the individual teachers would
lose a significant amount if the new formula
applied to them. In fact, two of the plaintiffs
lost significant amounts when they retired
and were paid for their unused, accumulat-
ed sick leave based upon the reduced formula contained in
the 2015 agreement. With respect to the other plaintiffs who
had not yet retired, the board took the position that when
they do retire, their compensation for the unused accumu-
lated sick leave would be based upon the new formula in the
2015 agreement. They, too, would lose significant amounts.
The individual teachers then filed a complaint in superi-
or court. Both parties filed motions for summary judgment.
The trial court judge concluded that compensation for ac-
cumulated but unpaid sick leave was a form of deferred