IN THE MATTER OF STATE OF NEW JERSEY ANDCOUNCIL OF NEW JERSEY STATE COLLEGE LOCALS, AFT(NEW JERSEY PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS COMMISSION), A-4948-15T3

Council of New Jersey State College Locals, AFT filed a grievance (Mar. 31, 2014) claiming eight state colleges ignored demands to negotiate procedures for granting tenure-upon-hire for newly hired faculty previously tenured elsewhere.
The State Office of Employee Relations denied the grievance; the Council sought arbitration under the collective negotiations agreement; the State petitioned PERC for a scope-of-negotiations determination and to restrain arbitration.
PERC held the statutory requirement that colleges "develop procedures" for tenure-upon-hire did not preempt collective bargaining and denied the State's request to bar arbitration.
The State appealed to the Appellate Division arguing (1) the statute preempts negotiation, (2) PERC misapplied Bethlehem Township, and (3) compelled negotiations would unlawfully intrude on managerial/policy decisions.
The Appellate Division reviewed PERC's statutory interpretation de novo (statute outside agency expertise) and affirmed PERC: the statute requires development of procedures but is not comprehensive enough to preempt bargaining.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (State)	Defendant's Argument (Council)	Held
Whether the statute preempts negotiation of tenure-upon-hire procedures	Statute fixes the term/condition; leaves no discretion; therefore non-negotiable	Statute mandates development of procedures and faculty inclusion but leaves details to negotiate	Not preemptive; procedures are negotiable
Whether PERC improperly relied on Bethlehem Township precedent	Bethlehem is inapposite because it involved current-employee evaluation procedures	Bethlehem controls: a statute/regulation that only requires development/consultation does not preempt bargaining	Bethlehem is applicable; PERC properly relied on it
Whether the statutory reference to "faculty" excludes union-represented faculty from participation/negotiation	"Faculty" means governing/collegial faculty and excludes rank-and-file union members	Legislature defined "faculty member" to mean full-time teaching staff; inclusion is unambiguous and contemplates faculty participation	Term construed per statutory definition; does not bar unionized faculty from negotiation
Whether compelling negotiation would impermissibly intrude on managerial/policy rights	Negotiation over tenure-upon-hire would significantly interfere with managerial/prerogative decisions	Any impingement is not "significant" statutory or constitutional interference; procedures (not substantive hiring) are negotiable	No significant interference; managerial rights preserved; procedures remain negotiable

Bethlehem Township Bd. of Educ. v. Bethlehem Twp. Educ. Ass'n, 91 N.J. 38 (1982) (regulation requiring "consultation" to develop procedures does not preempt negotiation)
State v. State Supervisory Emps. Ass'n, 78 N.J. 54 (1978) (preemption requires statute/regulation to be comprehensive and leave no discretion)
In re Local 195, IFPTE, 88 N.J. 393 (1982) (negotiation may impinge on governmental policy only if interference is "significant")
Belleville Ed. Ass'n v. Belleville Bd. of Ed., 209 N.J. Super. 93 (App. Div. 1986) (terms and conditions for prospective hires are negotiable)