ARTICLE 2. TERM AND AGREEMENT 4

ARTICLE 3. MANAGEMENT RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 4

ARTICLE 4. HOURS OF WORK 6

ARTICLE 5. COMPENSATION 7

ARTICLE 6. LONGEVITY 8

ARTICLE 7. OVERTIME SHIFT DIFFERENTIAL 8

ARTICLE 8. HOLIDAYS 9

ARTICLE 9. VACATION LEAVE 10

ARTICLE 10. LEAVES 11

ARTICLE 11. SICK LEAVE 11

ARTICLE 12. ASSIGNMENTS 13

ARTICLE 13. HEALTH INSURANCE BENEFITS 13

ARTICLE 14. ACCIDENTS AND SAFETY 15

ARTICLE 15. CLOTHING ALLOWANCE 15

ARTICLE 16. GRIEVANCES 15

ARTICLE 17. MISCELLANEOUS 16

ARTICLE 18.JOB POSTING 17

ARTICLE 19. TUITION REIMBURSEMENT 17

ARTICLE 20. UNION RIGHTS 17

ARTICLE 21. SENIORITY AND REDUCTION IN FORCE 17

ARTICLE 22. FULLY BARGAINED PROVISIONS 18

APPENDIX I FULL TIME SALARY TABLE

APPENDIX II PART TIME SALARY TABLE
PREAMBLE

The provisions of this Agreement are intended to provide for:

1. Conditions of employment and incentives which are fair and equitable;

2. Fair personnel administration to stimulate employee morale;

3. Job security subject to good behavior, satisfactory performance and availability of funds; and

4. Compliance with all Federal and State laws, including but not limited to employment Laws.

ARTICLE 1. RECOGNITION

Section 1. The Borough of Bloomingdale (Borough) recognizes the Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO (Union), as the sole and exclusive bargaining agency for all permanent full time and permanent part time employees covered by this Agreement. This recognition shall not impair the rights of any employee, group of employees and/or elected appointed officials under the New Jersey Constitution or any applicable law or State administrative regulation now or hereafter enacted or promulgated.

For the purposes of this Article, the employees covered by this Agreement comprise the White Collar Unit and are as follows:

^{Full Time} Part Time Hourly

^{Police Dispatcher} Part-Time Police Dispatcher

^{Deputy Clerk} Crossing Guard

Technical Assistant to Construction Office

^{Finance/Tax Office Assistant}

Office Assistant to Construction Office

Part-Time Animal Control Officer

Court Clerk

The Borough shall prepare, and provide to the Union, job descriptions for all covered employees.

Section 2. The employer agrees to deduct Union monthly membership dues from the pay of those employees who have authorized such deductions in writing pursuant to N.J.S.A. 52:14 15.9E. The amounts deducted shall be forwarded to the Union with a list of all names of the employees for whom the deductions are made, by the 10^th day of the succeeding month after which such deductions are made, to the following address:

Dues Deductions from any employee in the bargaining Union shall be limited to Communication Workers of America, the majority representative, and the employee shall be eligible to withdraw such authorization only as of July 1^st of each year, provided such notice has been timely filed. The Employer shall comply with N.J.S.A. 34:13A-1, et seq., commonly known as the Workplace Democracy Enhancement Act, and all amendments thereto.

The Union agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Borough against any and all claims, demands and suits or other forms of liability that shall arise out of or by reason of any action taken by the Borough in reliance upon information supplied by the Union concerning the names of the employees and the amount for dues to be deducted.

This Agreement shall be deemed to have been in full force and effect from January 1, 2020 through and including December 31, 2024. All monetary benefits, if not adjusted by January 1, 2020, shall apply retroactively to January 1, 2020 unless otherwise set forth in this Agreement, and payments of any money due shall be made as soon after the execution of this Agreement by all parties as may be practical in accordance with the provisions defined in Article 5 herein. Collective bargaining negotiations for a successor agreement on the terms of this Agreement shall begin on (October 1, 2024) or as otherwise required by the New Jersey Employers-Employees Relations Act. This Agreement shall remain in full force and effect during collective bargaining negotiations between the parties beyond the date of expiration and until a successor agreement is executed by the parties or a successor agreement becomes effective by other lawful means.

ARTICLE 3. MANAGEMENT RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Section 1. The Union recognizes that the Borough has the right and responsibility to manage Borough business and direct Borough personnel, including the right to hire, discharge and suspend employees as provided by law. The Borough reserves to itself the exclusive determination of all matters pertaining to schedules, work assignments and deployment of any and all resources including but not limited to the right to publish and enforce a Personnel Policy Manual and work rules, so long as the Personnel Policy Manual and rules are not inconsistent with this agreement. The Borough further reserves the right to add, change, interpret or eliminate personnel policies, practices and rules deemed in the best interests of the Borough.

All employees of the Unit shall be subject to rules of official conduct established by the Borough policies, rules and regulations. Any benefit of any nature and kind whatsoever, including but not limited to leaves, allowances, privileges, longevity, overtime pay (except as provided by law), holidays and holiday pay, any other premium pay benefit, vacation and vacation pay, sick leave, leaves of absence and health benefits, shall only apply to full time employees, and not to part time employees of any category, covered by this Agreement unless there is specific language in this Agreement making any such benefit, leave, allowance or privilege applicable to part time employees or as may be required by law.

Section 2. The Borough recognizes a duty and responsibility to refrain from coercion or intimidation of any employee and from solicitation of funds or contributions or causing same.

Section 3. The Borough recognizes and encourages meritorious actions on the part of its officials and employees. Letters of commendation concerning Borough employees from superiors and from members of the public shall be directed to the attention of the Governing Body and included in the employee's personnel file. The Governing Body may, on its own action, initiate commendations to be made and included in the employee's file. Copies of filed letters of commendation shall be made available to the employee upon request.

Section 4. Suggestions from and opinions of employees are solicited in written form in order to have them on record in the file of the employee. Such suggestions should be directed to the Borough Administrator or Full-Time Mayor.

Section 5

a) No employee shall be discharged or disciplined except for just cause or as according to law.

b) The Borough may sanction any employee for cause, including but not limited to violations of work or departmental rules or work unit rules and regulations and/or the provisions of the Personnel Policy of the Borough, as permitted by law.

c) The Borough, in its sole discretion, may sanction any employee for a breach of discipline, as permitted by law.

d) All of the following acts, which list is not exhaustive or limiting, and which is set forth as indicative of unacceptable behavior, shall be cause for sanction. ·

Absence without leave.
Failure to report to work after scheduled leave or after leave has been denied or revoked.
Neglect of duty. Breach of discipline.
Consumption of alcoholic beverages while on duty. Use of a controlled dangerous substance while on duty. Violation of the terms of this Agreement.
Violation of the provisions of the Personnel Policy Manual. Violation of work, departmental or work unit rules or regulations. Commission of any crime of any degree.
Commission of any disorderly or petty disorderly offense while on duty.
Conduct unbecoming a public employee. Engaging in any work slowdown or stoppage.

e) Sanctions include but are not limited to (except by law) verbal reprimand, written memorandum of censure, transfer of position, suspension with or without pay, demotion in rank and dismissal from employment. The Borough Administrator or Full-Time Mayor may suspend an employee without pay for no more than five (5) days. Recommendations for suspensions without pay exceeding five (5) days or termination of employment shall be reviewed by the Governing Body.

ARTICLE 4. HOURS OF WORK

Section 1. The Borough shall maintain normal daily hours of operation between 7

Section 2. Notwithstanding Section 1, full time police dispatchers shall work such schedule as required by the Chief of Police, full time Court employees shall be scheduled by the Municipal Court Judge, and full time ACO shall be scheduled by ACO Coordinator.

Section 3. Part time employees shall work such schedules as are assigned, which ·schedules are based on a 24-hour day for hours of operation. Part time employees are those employees scheduled to work fewer than 30 hours per week on a regular basis. Part time employees who elect to work in more than one part time position for the Borough shall be considered full time employees in the event their combined hours of work equal or exceed 30 hours.

Section 4. Full time employees are entitled to receive a one-hour unpaid lunch break as same may be scheduled by their Department Head, the Borough Administrator, or the Full-Time Mayor which lunch break shall normally be between noon and 2:00 pm, however, said break to begin no sooner than 3 hours nor later than 5 hours from the employee's starting time. The Borough Administrator or the Full-Time Mayor, at his/her sole discretion, or the Department Head may waive the time frame provision. The lunch period for the full-time dispatchers shall be as established by the Chief of Police. Part time employees, (excluding part time police dispatchers), shall be entitled to a one-hour unpaid lunch break as herein conditioned if scheduled to work seven consecutive hours on any given day.

Section 5. Accurate and complete time and attendance records shall be maintained and certified to the Borough Administrator or Full-Time Mayor by the employee. Every employee shall undertake to devote their full working time to the performance of their job.

ARTICLE 5. COMPENSATION

Section 1. Each employee of the Borough shall receive an annual base salary as set forth herein this Article and illustrated in the salary charts attached hereto.

Section 2. Each full-time employee covered by this Agreement hired prior to 12/31/14 and all part-time employees regardless of hire date shall receive an annual base salary increase during the term of this Agreement on January 1 of each year as follows:

2020 – 2%

2021 – 2%

2022 – 2%

2023 – 2%

2024 – 2%

Each full-time employee covered by this Agreement hired after 1/1/15 shall receive an annual base salary increase during the term of this Agreement on January 1 of each year as follows:

2020 – 3.5%

2021 – 3.5%

2022 – 3.5%

2023 – 3.5%

2024 – 3.5%

An employee hired subsequent to January 1 of any year of this Agreement is not entitled to an increase in pay during the year of employment and shall receive a first increase in pay on January 1 next subsequent to the date of employment, except that an employee hired in the last quarter of a year shall be eligible for a first increase on January 1 following the year subsequent to hire.

ARTICLE 6. LONGEVITY

Section 1. The following longevity payment schedule shall be in effect during the term of this Agreement. Longevity shall be added to base pay on the anniversary of the official date of hire for each entitled employee. Effective January 1, 2014, only employees hired as of that date, including permanent full-time and part-time employees, shall be entitled to receive longevity payments in accordance with the below, except that those employees currently receiving longevity above what is delineated herein shall continue to receive longevity at their current rate until such time as they are entitled to an increase in longevity. Longevity for 2020 through 2024 shall be as follows:

5^th through 9^th year 3%
10^th through 14^th year 4%
15^th through 19^th year 5%
20^th year and over 6%

ARTICLE 7. OVERTIME AND SHIFT DIFFERENTIAL

Section 1. Overtime shall occur only with the prior approval of the Borough Administrator, or Full-Time Mayor or designee. The policy of the Borough is to avoid the occurrence of overtime whenever possible.

Section 2. Overtime shall be compensated at one and one half times the base rate of pay except as set forth otherwise herein. If an employee holds multiple titles/positions, they shall not be combined for overtime purposes except as may be required by law.
Section 3. The Borough shall comply with applicable law with respect to the determination of overtime. Notwithstanding, the Borough shall pay full time permanent employees as follows: one and one half times the base rate of pay for work in excess 35 hours per week or work on a Saturday; two times the base rate of pay for work on a Sunday; and one and one half times the base rate of pay plus straight time pay for the Holiday, for work on a Borough recognized holiday. Employees shall be precluded from and not be entitled to overtime pay until the employee has worked a full 35 hour work week. Therefore, if an employee utilizes sick leave during a work week, he/she shall not receive overtime pay until he/she has worked 35 hours outside of the sick leave utilized.

Section 4. Part time employees shall be paid overtime strictly in conformity with applicable law. Part time employees shall not receive overtime for work on Saturdays, Sundays or Holidays except as may be required by law. Part time dispatchers shall receive a 15% of base hourly pay shift differential for work on a Sunday. For all borough holidays part time dispatchers shall receive a 25% shift differential in the manner set forth above in lieu of and not in addition to the 15% differential for Sunday work. Said differential shall not be paid for any Sunday or Borough Holiday for which the dispatcher may receive or have received overtime pay during the term of this contract.

Section 5. The Asst. Municipal Court Clerk, the Animal Control Officer, Police Dispatcher, and Matron duties, shall receive a minimum of three hours of Overtime pay when called out. If time is during scheduled work hours no OT rates will apply.

ARTICLE 8. HOLIDAYS

Section 1. The following days are the Borough recognized Holidays. An employee is entitled to holiday pay only if the employee satisfies the requirements of this Article.

New Year's Day	President's Day	Good Friday
Memorial Day Columbus Day Day After Thanksgiving	July 4th Veteran's Day Christmas Day	Labor Day Thanksgiving Day 2 Floating Holidays

Section 2. A holiday which falls on a Saturday shall be observed on the preceding Friday. A holiday which falls on a Sunday shall be observed on the subsequent Monday. A holiday falling during an employee's scheduled and approved week of vacation shall be granted to said employee on another date. Holiday leave is not cumulative.

Section 3. One week's notice is required when taking a floating holiday, subject to waiver at the sole discretion of the Borough Administrator, Full-Time Mayor or designee, Floating holidays must be taken in full or half day increments only.

Section 4. Permanent part time employees, who work 20 hours or more per week, shall be paid at their regular rate of pay for any Borough Holiday which falls on a regularly scheduled work day, subject to all other provisions of this Article. Part time employees are not entitled to floating holidays in any circumstance. Part time dispatchers shall not receive holiday pay and shall receive the differential pay as set forth above.

Section 5. At the sole discretion of the Borough Administrator, Full-Time Mayor or designee, the Borough will shorten working hours on the day before Christmas and on New Year's Eve for all employees. The shortening of hours shall not pertain to essential and emergency personnel.

Section 1. Full time employees shall be entitled to vacation leave with pay measured by length of service and which shall accrue on a monthly prorated basis for any part year as set forth in the following schedule. Years of service shall be computed from July 1 of each year. Any employees currently receiving a greater amount of vacation leave than as provided below shall continue to receive their current allotted vacation leave until such time that they are entitled to receive a greater amount of vacation leave as set forth in the following schedule.

Year 1 42 hours
Year 2 ^{84 hours}
Year 3 91 hours
^{Year 4} 98 hours
Year 5 105 hours
Year 6 112 hours
Year 7 119 hours
Year 8 ^{126 hours}
Year 9 ^{133 hours}
Year 10 ^{140 hours}
Year 11 147 hours
Year 12 154 hours
Year 13 161 hours
Year 14 168 hours
Years 15+: 175 hours

Section 2. The Borough shall make vacation request forms available to the employees. All vacation requests for each calendar year must be submitted to the employee's Department Head no later than March 1 of each year. The Borough will provide written notification of approval or denial of the vacation request to the employee within 7 days of receipt of the request form.

Section 3. The Borough shall treat all vacation requests on the basis of preference according to length of service when possible, with a minimum delay or inconvenience and while meeting starting requirements of the Borough.

Section 4 Vacation leave may be carried to the next subsequent year. All carry over vacation leave must be used by December 31 ^st of the subsequent year. Carried over vacation leave must be used prior to the use of vacation from the subsequent year. For example, a Borough employee carrying over vacation leave from 2015 to 2016, must utilize his/her 2015 vacation leave in 2016 before utilizing his/her 2016 vacation leave.

ARTICLE 10. LEAVES

Section 1. Leave of Absence Without Pay. Any employee may apply to the Borough Administrator or Full-Time Mayor for a leave of absence without pay for a period not to exceed ninety days. The employee shall submit the request in writing and shall state the reason the leave is requested, the expected date leave is to start and the expected date of return to duty. Granting such a leave is at the sole discretion of the Borough Administrator or Full-Time Mayor. If leave is granted, the employee shall not lose seniority. Extensions may be granted at the sole discretion of the Borough Administrator or Full-Time Mayor. Extension requests shall be in the same form as requests and shall be made prior to the date of return to duty. An employee, who leaves a position prior to receiving written authorization or fails to return without an approved extension from such a leave, shall be deemed to have abandoned the position and job title and such act shall constitute a resignation from employment with the Borough.

Section 2. Personal Leave Without Pay. An employee may request personal leave without pay at least three days prior to the start of said leave. The request must be in writing and set forth the reason and the amount of time requested. The approval or denial of such requests and/or the amount of time approved, if applicable, is at the sole discretion of the Borough Administrator or Full-Time Mayor. The Borough Administrator or Full-Time Mayor shall approve or deny the request within two days of receipt. A rejection shall be in writing and provide the reason. It is the intention of this provision that such requests be for limited and definite periods of time. ·

Section 3. Bereavement leave shall be provided to all full time and part time permanent employees at base pay as follows.

a. Death of a spouse, child, parent, brother or sister, 3 working days

b. Death of a spouse's child, parent, brother or sister, 3 working days

c. Death of a grandparent, 2 working days

d. Death of a relative living under the same roof, 2 working day

ARTICLE 11. SICK LEAVE

Section 1. Sick leave shall be granted to an eligible employee who, through sickness or injury, becomes incapacitated to such a degree that it is impossible for the employee to perform the duties of the position or who is quarantined by a physician due to exposure to a contagious disease
Section 2. Full time permanent employees are entitled to fifteen sick days per year or a monthly prorated portion of same for partial years of employment. Sick days may be accumulated without limit. Effective January 1, 2020 there shall be one bank for sick time and retirement accumulated days. This bank will be called a Sick/Retirement bank. For those employees who currently have two (2) banks known as Terminal Leave and Retirement will now be combined into the new Sick/Retirement bank.
Section 3. Temporary employees are not entitled to any sick leave benefit. Part time employees receive 1 hour for every 30 hours worked.
Section 4. Upon retirement, New employees hired after May 21, 2010 will follow statute N.J.S.A 40A:9-10:2 and will be eligible to receive compensation for any unused banked sick time, not more than the amount accumulated at one-half (1/2) pay or Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00) whichever is less.

Employees hired prior to May 21, 2010 shall receive compensation for a maximum of 180 unused sick days paid out in one of the following options:

a. One half the daily rate of pay for each accumulated sick day up to the 180 maximum sick days at the rate of pay on the date of retirement.

b. Terminal leave equal to no more than 180 days at half pay.

Section 5. On or before February 1 of each year, an employee may request and receive payment for no more than six (6) unused and accumulated sick days which accrued in the prior year, to be compensated at the current daily rate of pay for each day compensated. Days for which the employee elects compensation on a yearly basis shall not accumulate for retirement compensation or future sick time use.

Section 6. The Borough retains the managerial right to establish and maintain a sick leave policy as part of the Personnel Policy Manual which has been adopted by the Borough. The Borough agrees to negotiate any aspect of economic impact or disciplinary impact affected by such a policy, in good faith.

Section 7. The Borough Administrator, Full-Time Mayor or designee, at his/her sole discretion, may require an employee to provide to the Borough acceptable medical evidence attesting to an employee's inability to work if the sick leave comprises 3 days or more in any one year period, regardless of whether said days are consecutive. An employee who fails to provide said evidence upon request shall be paid for no more than 3 days of sick leave and the sick days which are not paid shall not be credited back to the employee.

Section 8. The employee must report the sick leave request prior to the assigned starting time. An employee failing to do so will be considered absent without leave and may not be paid for the sick day, at the sole discretion of the Borough Administrator or Full-Time Mayor.
Section 9. Each eligible full time employee may take 4 of the 15 entitled sick days per year for attending to personal matters. Sick leave taken for personal matters must be taken in increments of half or full days only and must be requested 48 hours in advance of the leave. Unused sick and vacation time shall be paid to the beneficiary of an Employee’s estate in the event of the death of the Employee while the Employee is in employment status with the Borough of Bloomingdale. The payout for an employee hired after 5/21/2010 would not be more than the amount accumulated at one-half (1/2) pay or Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00) whichever is less. For an employee hired before 5/21/2010 payout would not be more than the amount accumulated at one-half (1/2) pay capped at 180 days max.

ARTICLE 12. ASSIGNMENTS

Section 1. Assignments of personnel, including but not limited to appointments, promotions and transfers shall be made on the basis of qualifications of education, training, prior experience and personal fitness, without regard to race, religion, sex, national origin or personal, family or political affiliations, according to law, but subject to the non reviewable discretion of the Governing Body. It is the policy of the Borough to give reasonable preference in employment to qualified residents of the Borough where permitted by law.

Section ·2. Unless prohibited by law, newly hired employees, and employees covered under this Agreement who may be assigned to new positions, shall be considered on probation for a reasonable period of time, but at least six months, the period to be at the sole discretion of the Borough Administrator, Full-Time Mayor or designee. During probation, compensation shall be at a rate established by the Borough but within the salary range set forth in this Agreement. Compensation for a transferred employee shall be established by the Borough but shall not be less than the prior compensation paid to the transferred employee.

Section 3. The Borough shall first consider the transfer of a permanent employee or the hiring of a Borough resident, in that order, to fill vacancies, if it is practicable and in the best interest of the Borough and if the considered employee or resident is qualified to fill the vacancy. Seniority of permanent employees shall also be considered. Notwithstanding the above considerations, the Borough shall not be restricted in its hiring practices and the decision as to how a vacancy is filled is in the non-reviewable discretion of the Governing Body.

Section 4. Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent the Borough from temporarily assigning to any vacancy any person of the Borough's choosing pending the selection of a permanent employee for the position. The Borough agrees not to hire any temporary employee to fill a vacancy of a position covered by this Agreement for a period of more than 90 days.

Section 5. All probationary employees and all temporary employees may be required to undergo medical examinations and may be subject to investigation for fitness to perform duties as deemed necessary at the sole discretion of the Borough.

ARTICLE 13. HEALTH INSURANCE BENEFITS

Section 1. The Borough will provide each full time permanent employee covered by this Agreement with the option for medical coverage substantially similar to New Jersey State Health Benefits Plan (NJSHBP) with built in Prescription Plan. Each eligible employee may elect coverage from options offered by the Borough and retirees shall be entitled to the same coverage as offered to Borough employees at any given time. New employees shall not be entitled to medical or dental coverage from the Borough until ninety (90) consecutive days of active, full-time employment, or as otherwise prescribed by law.

Section 2. All employees shall contribute toward medical and dental coverage pursuant to the guidelines issued by the State.

Section 3. Employees who retire from active service with the Borough after 25 continuous years of full-time service to the Borough, or who retire on permanent disability as defined by N.J.S.A. 40A: 10-23, shall receive medical coverage as then currently provided to members of the Union. Any retired employee receiving medical coverage from the Borough shall be required to pay a contribution at their retirement salary pursuant to State guidelines. Retirees shall integrate medical coverage with Federal Medicare coverage at age 65. Employees who retire from the Borough prior to 25 years of service to the Borough may elect to purchase medical coverage as then provided by the Borough under such regulations and administration as may be instituted by the Borough and if permitted by the health care coverage provider. Failure to strictly abide by the Borough regulations and administration will result in the waiver of this provision by the Employee. Nothing in this provision relating to employees who retire prior to 25 years of Borough service shall be construed to mean that the Borough shall ever, at any time, be responsible for the payment or continuation of medical benefits for employees who retire prior to the completion of 25 years of service to the Borough.

Section 4. The Borough shall continue to provide each permanent full time employee covered by this Agreement with dental insurance. The current plan is the Delta Dental Insurance Plan. The Borough may, at its sole discretion, change plans and provide to the eligible employees substantially similar coverage. Employee contribution shall be in accordance with Article 13, section 2 herein. Effective June 1, 2021 the annual coverage shall be One Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($1,500.00) per year for each covered member.

Section 5. All part time employees shall be entitled to purchase medical and dental insurance as provided by the Borough to permanent full time employees at the premium rate charged to the Borough, subject to the approval of and pursuant to the regulations of the NJSHBP or the provider. The employee may elect this coverage by way of a Section 125 Plan. All premiums for any elected coverage shall be deducted from the part time pay of the employee. Any shortfall after deduction shall be paid to the Borough by the employee. Failure to pay premiums when due shall result in loss of coverage.

Sections 6. All bargaining unit members health benefits contributions under Chapter 78, P.L .2011 shall be moved from their current year four (4) to year three (3) as per the percentage of premium charts for the life of this agreement.

Section 7. If the employee had 20 years in the pension system as of June 28, 2011, then he/she is grandfathered in for retiree benefits at no contribution cost after 25 years of continuous service with the Borough. If he/she did NOT have 20 years as of that date, then the contribution for the retiree benefits after 25 years of continuous service would be at the tier at which they retire.

Section 8. As of the ratification date of this agreement, any employee covered by a health insurance policy other than the coverage afforded the employee by the Borough, upon presenting adequate proof of said coverage may elect to waive health benefits as per State Statute 40A:10-17.1 and shall be entitled to receive 25% of the premium or $5000, whichever is less, paid quarterly by the Borough. Prior to ratification of this agreement, the employer shall not change or alter the past practice for all current employees who have waived the boroughs health insurance.

ARTICLE 14. ACCIDENTS AND SAFETY

Section l. All accidents occurring while on the job must be reported as soon as possible to the Borough Administrator, Full-Time Mayor or Designee. All accidents shall be reported to the appropriate carrier within the time prescribed by the insurance policy. The accident report form shall be prepared by the employee's Department Head. Non accident claims are not included in this provision.

Section 2. The Borough police department shall be called to the scene of any and all accidents involving a Borough vehicle. If an accident occurs outside of the Borough, the employee shall call the police department of the jurisdiction in which the accident occurred and or the New Jersey State Police. The employee must further comply with all State motor vehicle laws.

ARTICLE 15. CLOTHING ALLOWANCE
Section 1. The Animal Control Officers shall receive a clothing allowance for uniforms in the amount of $500.00 which shall be paid by way of payroll. The employee shall wear such uniform as required by the Borough. The provision for uniform cleaning is not retroactive and shall be prospective from the date of contract ratification and shall be prorated for the first year in effect. The provision for clothing allowances shall not be retroactive.

Section 2. The Borough shall provide a cellular telephone and a complete uniform set-up for a newly hired Animal Control Officer.

Section 3. Uniforms shall be provided to the Police Dispatchers and the Crossing Guards on an as needed basis, at the sole discretion of the Borough, or at the employees' request if approved by the Chief of Police. Uniforms are the property of the Borough and shall be returned to the Borough in the event the employee is no longer employed by the Borough.

ARTICLE 16. GRIEVANCES

Section 1. A grievance is defined as any complaint of an employee regarding wages, hours of work or other conditions of employment addressed in this Agreement.

Section 2. The following procedure is to be followed for all grievances.

A. The grievance must be reported to the Department Head by the aggrieved employee within five working days after the matter to be grieved occurred.

B. The Department Head shall discuss the grievance with the aggrieved employee or the employee's representative within five working days after receipt of notice of the grievance by the Department Head.

C. Within ten working days after the Department Head has heard the grievance, the grieving employee may file a written description of the matter being grieved with the Borough Administrator or Full-Time Mayor. The Borough Administrator or Full-Time Mayor shall hear the aggrieved employee or the employee 's representative within ten working days after receipt of the written notice by the Borough Administrator or Full-Time Mayor. The Borough Administrator or Full­ Time Mayor shall render a written decision within ten working days after the hearing. The Governing Body shall be informed of the decision.

D. The written decision of the Borough Administrator or Full-Time Mayor shall be final and binding, except that within fifteen days after receipt of the decision, the Union may request arbitration of the decision. The arbitrators shall be selected mutually by the Borough and the employee pursuant to the procedures established by the State of New Jersey Public Relations Employment Commission.

E. The arbitrator shall interpret the provisions of this Agreement and shall have no power to enlarge upon or reduce the obligations of the parties under this Agreement. Arbitration shall be binding on the parties.

F. The cost of the arbitrator shall be home equally by the Union and the Borough.

Section 4. The Shop Steward shall not be required to use personal leave benefits for PERC hearings in which the Union prevails, subject to the limitation that this provision covers only one Shop Steward. .

ARTICLE 17. MISCELLANEOUS

Section 1. Personnel files shall be kept in the office of the Borough Administrator or Full-Time Mayor for all employees and shall contain pertinent information including, but not limited to, the following; application for employment, time information, pension information, commendation letters and information related to disciplinary matters. The employee may examine their personnel file upon request to the Borough Administrator or Full-Time Mayor and under proper supervision, within a reasonable time. No derogatory document shall be placed in a personnel file without the employee being given a copy of the document.

Section 2. No agreement relating to the terms and conditions of this Agreement or any amendment or modification of this Agreement shall be binding on any of the parties hereto unless such agreement, amendment or modification is made in writing and executed by the parties, except as may be otherwise provided by law or a Court of competent jurisdiction in the State of New Jersey.

Section 3. The parties agree that they shall not discriminate against any employee because of race, color, creed, religion, nationality sex or Union membership.

Section 4. The parties agree that the provisions of N.J.S.A. 34:13A5.3 shall govern all other working conditions and benefits.

ARTICLE 18. JOB POSTING

Section 1. The Borough agrees to post job vacancies, stating classifications, for a minimum of five days.

Section 2. The Union representative will be notified of all eminent vacancies or promotions for full time positions incorporated in this Agreement and the posting will be provided on the employee bulletin board for a minimum of five days.

Section 3. The Borough agrees to grant interviews to qualified unit members submitting applications for vacancies and promotions within the unit. Employees who interview will receive a written response to the status of the position.

Section 4. The hiring policy and preference policy are set forth in Article 12 of this Agreement.

ARTICLE 19. TUITION REIMBURSEMENT

Section I. Full time permanent employees covered by this Agreement shall be entitled to participate in the Borough Tuition Reimbursement Program.

ARTICLE 20. UNION RIGHTS
Section 1. The Borough shall provide a bulletin board for the use of the Union in a place that is accessible to all covered employees. This bulletin board may be used to post official Borough communications.

Section 2: The Unit shall be represented by a Steward and an Assistant Steward, The Stewards shall be chosen in any manner the Union may designate if lawful. The unit will notify the Borough in writing of the names of the Steward and Assistant Steward.

Section 3. The Stewards may, during working hours, without loss of time or pay, with the prior permission of the Department Head, Borough Administrator or Full-Time Mayor, investigate, resolve and present grievances to the Borough. Permission must be obtained in advance of the time to be taken. Time spent in this regard must be reasonable and devoted only to the prompt resolution of grievances. The Department Head, Borough Administrator or Full-Time Mayor shall not unreasonably withhold permission for the Stewards to act under this provision.

Section 4. Union employees who are members of the bargaining committee shall be permitted to attend negotiation meetings conducted with the Borough, and for a period not to exceed thirty minutes prior to and after such meetings, which are scheduled during working hours without loss of pay. No employee will be given additional compensation for time spent in bargaining sessions outside of the normal workday.

ARTICLE 21. SENIORITY AND REDUCTION IN FORCE

Section 1. The Borough shall establish and maintain a seniority list for full time employees and a separate list for part time employees for each position title containing more than one (1) employee. The list shall contain the names and dates of employment from the date of last hire in the Borough for that job title. The employee with the longest length of continuous and uninterrupted service from the date of last hire shall be placed at the top of the list. The list shall then provide for each employee to be listed in turn by the same criterion.

Section 2. Layoffs: The necessity for a layoff, the number of employees to be laid off, and the job titles which shall be laid off are all decisions that shall be made in the sole_ discretion of the Borough.

The Borough shall be required, however, to follow the procedure set forth below:

A. The Borough shall meet the Union to discuss the impact of the layoff at least thirty (30) days in advance of the effective date.

B. All employees to be laid off shall be notified, in writing, at least thirty (30) days in advance of the effective date of the layoff.

C. The Borough shall make layoff decisions in order of seniority within job title. Senior employees who are laid-off shall have the right to bump down to previously held positions if employees occupying those positions have less seniority.

Section 3. Recall from Layoffs: An employee that is laid off may be recalled by

A. The Borough shall make recall decisions in order of seniority, provided the employee being recalled is qualified to perform the duties of the vacant position.
B. The Borough shall notice the employee in writing of the recall no less than 20 days prior to the effective date of the recall.

C. An employee who receives a notice of recall must respond within 5 days of the receipt of the notice of recall.

D. Recall rights exists for a period of 2 years from the date of layoff.

ARTICLE 22. Fully Bargained Provisions

This Agreement represents and incorporates the complete and final understanding and settlement by the parties on all bargainable issues which were or could have been the subject of negotiations. During the term of this Agreement, neither party will be required to negotiate with respect to any such matter, whether or not covered by this Agreement, and whether or not within the knowledge or contemplation of either or both of the parties at the time they negotiated or signed this Agreement

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have subscribed their hands and seals at the Borough of Bloomingdale, County of Passaic and State of New Jersey this _____ day of ________________, 2021.



ATTEST: CWA, AFL-CIO, LOCAL 1032





BY: ____________________________ BY:__________________________
Union Representative

DATE: ___________________________ DATE:_______________________



BY: ____________________________ BY:__________________________
Union Steward

DATE: ___________________________ DATE:_______________________



BOROUGH OF BLOOMINGDALE
COUNTY OF PASSAIC
STATE OF NEW JERSEY




BY: ____________________________ BY:__________________________
BREEANNA CALABRO, Municipal Clerk JOHN D’AMATO, ACTING MAYOR

DATE: ___________________________ DATE:_______________________