Appeals court sends Nassau police longevity pay dispute to arbitration

                                                                       

From Nassau PBA Facebook page

A state appellate court on Wednesday ordered a long-simmering dispute over Nassau police longevity pay -- annual bonuses based on length of service -- go to arbitration.

For police, that means the arbitrator's decision will be binding and is not negotiable.

A four-judge panel of the 2nd Department state Appellate Division unanimously decided to stay lawsuits filed by the Democratic administration of County Executive Laura Curran against Nassau's Police Benevolent Association and Detective's Association Inc. until an arbitrator determines the validity of a 2017 memorandum of agreement. The county had asked the court to throw out the agreement negotiated by the former Republican administration of Ed Mangano that restores increases in longevity pay.

The dispute dates back to 2014 when the county's financial control board struck new deals with the county's five major unions to end a three-year employee wage freeze. Those deals expired on Dec. 31, 2017, the day before Curran took office.

The control board, the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, contended the 2014 deals ended any future increases in longevity pay. The unions contended the increases were restored when the contracts ended. Neither the contracts nor a subsequent "clarification" letter specifically addressed longevity pay.

Because the terms were not clear, unions say Curran promised to abide by any court decision. 

But she appealed when then Nassau Administrative Judge Thomas Adams in Dec. 2018 ruled the Mangano-era agreement was valid, putting the county on the hook for millions of dollars in back and future pay. He also ordered the county and unions into arbitration.

The appellate division wrote on Nov. 18 that a grievance filed by the unions complaining that Nassau was not abiding by the 2017 agreement "is arbitrable. As such, contrary to the determination of the Supreme Court, the validity of the substantive provisions of the MOA, including whether the MOA is invalid because of mutual mistake, is for the arbitrator to decide."

"This was a huge win for the men and women in blue," said John Ciampoli, a former Nassau County attorney who served as "of counsel" for the police unions. Steven Losquadro was main attorney on the cases.

"The county has been looking to avoid their obligation to provide longevity or to even have an arbitrator decide the issue. They have been trying to avoid this altogether," Ciampoli said. 

"Every now and again, you should step up and pay your bill to the people who put their lives on the line for you."

It was unclear whether the county has automatic right to appeal the decision.