Policemen’s Benevolent Association Local 258 (PBA) and the County of Ocean in New Jersey are parties to a CBA entitling police officers to bereavement leave. The relevant provision states “Employees shall receive up to three days in the event of the death of a spouse, child, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, parent, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother, brother-in-law, sister, sister-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, common law spouse, and any other member of the immediate household. All employees shall be entitled to a leave of one day to attend the funeral of a spouse’s aunt, uncle, or grandparent.” The CBA does not specifically identify stepparents as triggering the bereavement leave entitlement.
In September 2021, Police Corporal Frederick Piontek, Jr. requested three days’ bereavement in connection with his stepfather’s death. His shift commander approved, but it was ultimately denied by his administrative captain. Piontek instead used three days of accrued leave, and the PBA filed a grievance, arguing that Piontek was entitled to bereavement leave. The case proceeded to arbitration.
At the hearing, the PBA argued that the CBA did not preclude bereavement leave for the death of stepparents. Piontek testified that his mother married his stepfather when he was 17 years old, and that they identified each other as father and son. Piontek also explained that he held his stepfather in higher esteem than his biological father, and that Piontek’s children considered his stepfather to be their grandfather. The Arbitrator rejected the PBA’s argument, finding that the word parent could reasonably connote biological and adoptive parents, but not stepparents. The parties’ decision to list 18 categories of familial relations in the bereavement leave clause showed that it was comprehensive, and the exclusion of stepparents was therefore intentional. The Arbitrator rejected the PBA’s contention that biological parents and stepparents should be treated equally under the bereavement leave clause, finding that state law treats them differently – namely for inheritance purposes.
The PBA petitioned to vacate the arbitration award in court. The judge granted the petition, finding that the word “parent” could be reasonably interpreted to include “stepparent.” The judge argued that the Arbitrator’s reasoning was anomalous, because it would permit bereavement leave for the death of a parent-in-law, but not for the spouse of a biological parent. The County appealed.
The appellate court affirmed, finding that the PBA met its burden of proof that the Arbitrator exceeded his authority by adding a new term to the contract – by defining “parent” in the bereavement leave section to include biological and adoptive parents, while excluding stepparents. The Court found that the Arbitrator improperly, and incorrectly, concluded that stepparents, unlike biological and adoptive parents, do not have legal rights of parenthood.
The Court further noted that the Arbitrator “failed to reconcile why a PBA member would not be entitled to a single day, let alone three days, of bereavement leave for the death of a stepparent, yet, under the plain terms of that Article, the member would be entitled to a full day of bereavement leave for the death of a spouse’s aunt, uncle, or grandparent, i.e., persons with whom the member had no biological or adoptive ties, and with whom the member likely never lived.” The Arbitrator’s reading of “parent” to exclude “stepparent” conflicts with the following sentence, which grants bereavement for the death of more distant family members.
Policemen’s Benevolent Association Local Number 258 v. County of Ocean, DOCKET NOT. A-2129-22, 2024 WL 1880779 (N.J. Super. App. Div., 2024).