On April 24, 2025, the New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) remanded a Hearing Examiner’s decision in a case involving the County College of Morris (CCM) and the Faculty Association of County College of Morris. The Hearing Examiner had previously found that CCM violated subsections 5.4a(1) and (3) of the New Jersey Employer-Employee Relations Act by retaliating against six faculty members for engaging in protected union activity when it declined to reappoint them for the 2021–2022 academic year. PERC determined that the New Jersey Supreme Court’s standard set forth in Bridgewater Tp., 95 N.J. 235 (1984) must be reapplied to assess whether an unfair practice occurred. The Commission granted CCM’s exception regarding a finding of anti-union hostility based on a police report, noting the incident in question occurred after the reappointment decisions were made and could not support the earlier finding. It also partially granted CCM’s exception to a negative inference drawn from the College President’s lack of testimony, finding that CCM should be given notice of that inference and an opportunity to present the President’s testimony on remand. PERC further found that while the Hearing Examiner concluded CCM’s stated reasons for non-reappointment were pretextual, the record reflects both lawful and unlawful motives, and a full analysis is required to determine whether the non-reappointments would have occurred absent the protected conduct.

The County College of Morris was represented by Matthew J. Giacobbe, Esq. and Gregory J. Franklin, Esq.