Christopher Barrett was quoted in “Avalon Lifeguards Sue Borough to Gain Pensions” in the Cape May County Herald on April 9. The article discusses a lawsuit in which a group of veteran lifeguards sued the Borough of Avalon asking a Superior Court judge to rule that Avalon is in violation of state law for not offering pensions to eligible lifeguards upon retirement.
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Chris, who has years of experience in New Jersey employment litigation, told the Herald the Avalon lawsuit will likely come down to whether the court believes it was the Legislature’s intent to include boroughs, townships, villages and other forms of municipality under the lifeguard pension statute, which specifically refers to “cities.”
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Chris states that according to state law cities of the fourth class are those “bordering on the Atlantic Ocean which are seaside or summer resorts.”
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Chris notes that Avalon lieutenants cite a separate statute in their complaint that lays out the eligibility requirements for New Jersey ocean lifeguards to qualify for a pension. According to that law, “in all cities of the fourth class, any member of the lifeguard force, whether employed as an officer or a guard,” who is at least 45 years old with 20 or more total years of service and at least 10 consecutive years on the beach patrol prior to their application for the pension, “may … be retired upon half pay.”
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Chris points out “boroughs” – like Avalon – were a well-established form of government prior to when the lifeguard pension statute was enacted in 1928. This, he said, may create issues with the Avalon lieutenants’ case. “Interestingly, the lifeguard pension statute was amended in 1936 to finally include the law’s sponsor’s statement, which again reiterated that it applied only to ‘cities of the fourth class,’” Barrett said.
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“In my view, this statement — and the absence of wording to include ‘boroughs’ or ‘townships’ in the actual law — further emphasizes the Legislature’s intent of the applicability of the lifeguard pension statute to only ‘cities of the fourth class.’”
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Chris further notes that the Avalon suit has the potential to establish case law in an area where there is currently little precedent for the courts to rely on. “There have been few published cases regarding the lifeguard pension law,” he said. “Whatever happens in this lawsuit could have a broader impact than just on the Avalon Beach Patrol. It could change pension availability in boroughs and other townships that have lifeguard forces that currently do not provide their lifeguard employees with pensions.”
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Read the full article “Avalon Lifeguards Sue Borough to Gain Pensions” (subscription required).