NJ Supreme Court: Schools can pay teachers to work full time for unions
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A policy allowing teachers union officials to work full time for their union while getting paid by taxpayers is constitutional, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Wednesday in a big win for teachers unions statewide.
New Jersey school boards are authorized by state law to grant paid leave to union officials to encourage cooperative labor relations and facilitate early resolution of employer-employee disputes, the unanimous decision says.
Conservative think tank the Goldwater Institute had sued the Jersey City school district on behalf of two city taxpayers, alleging that the policy known as release time violates the “gift clause” provisions of the state constitution, which bar public entities from giving money to private individuals or companies. But there is no constitutional violation here, the justices say.