Decision on Back Pay for Borough Workers Tabled

The Mayor and Council tabled a decision Tuesday on whether to pay two employees for working out of position.

The Public Employees Association filed a grievance with the governing body after Rich Lambert and another Borough workers filled in for supervisors, but were not given extra pay.

"You can't just ignore the contractual obligations of the collective bargaining agreement," PEA attorney Tim Wiss said.

Lambert is owed $25.60 for 54 days of working out of position, while the other employee is owed for 21 days at the same rate. The two had received compensation for the out-of-position work until the fourth quarter of 2010, Lambert said.

Wiss asked the governing body to approve the payment. He assured them that Lambert and the other employee were the only two PEA employees who hadn't been paid.

Borough Administrator Joseph D'Arco argued that filling in for the recreation director is part of Lambert's job as assistant recreation director.

"[The two employees] are already supervisors, and by nature of the title their role is to take charge," D'Arco said.

Lambert said he doesn't supervise anyone normally. The only time he does is when he fills in for the recreation director, he said.

The Borough and the union are in negotiations to remove the extra pay from their next contract, but Wiss said the Borough has to comply with the current agreement.

"It's just a question of why this provision suddenly stopped being enforced," Wiss said.

Mayor Richard LaBarbiera said the Council might agree to the back-pay if Wiss could promise that the issue wouldn't come up again. But Wiss said he couldn't account for whether other workers would have to fill in for supervisors in the future.

Because councilmen Rohdieck and Nazziola were absent from the Tuesday morning meeting, LaBarbiera said the governing body would have to deliberate before coming to a decision.