Chief Robert Farley Hostile Work Environment
Dear North Bergen Township,
Please accept this electronic request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form or use a particular software platform to submit my request per NJSA 47:1A-6(f), which states that an email from a requestor including all of the information required on the adopted form shall suffice in place of a completed form as a valid government record request.
I HAVE NOT been convicted of any indictable offense under the laws of New Jersey, any other state, or the United States.
I WILL NOT use the requested government records for a commercial purpose.
I AM NOT seeking records in connection with a legal proceeding.
Records requested:
1. North Bergen Police PBA 18 and 18A Union Contracts.
2. North Bergen Police PBA Bylaws, Rules of Conduct, Code of Ethics.
3. North Bergen Police Rules and Regulations.
4. North Bergen Police Internal Affairs Policy.
5. North Bergen Police Policies on Workplace Harassment and Hostile Work Environment.
6. North Bergen Township Attorney(s) contact information to include name, phone number, email, and mailing address, that handles workplace harassment and hostile work environment complaints against the Chief of Police.
7. Grievance procedure to expel North Bergen Police Officers from the North Bergen PBA for violating and betraying the trust of its officers that were speaking out during a North Bergen PBA Union Meeting against the unfair and corrupt assignment of off duty details. The names of the officers were given to the Chief of Police where he then retaliated against them.
8. North Bergen Police Department Personnel Order issued on or about 9/30/24 that reassigned multiple officers from their current assignment to an undesirable assignment without notice and with extreme prejudice by Chief Robert Farley in retaliation for officers speaking up at a PBA Union Meeting with regards to the unfair and corrupt assignment of off duty details to Chief Farley's closest friends.
9. North Bergen Police Personnel Order issued on or about August 2024 reassigning Lieutenant Robert Ruiz from his steady administrative assignment to the less desirable patrol assignment without any justification by Chief Robert Farley to retaliate against. Lt. Ruiz because he too spoke up against the unfair selection process of off duty details.
My preferred delivery method for response(s) to this request is by E-mail as attachments. Please confirm you have received this request. If you are not the custodian of records, please forward my request to that person and provide their email address to me for future reference.
Yours faithfully,
NBPD PBA United
Good Morning,
The Township of North Bergen (the “Township”) received your request dated 10/10/2024 under the New Jersey Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”), N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq.
In response to your request, please see attached records.
Request: 1. North Bergen Police PBA 18 and 18A Union Contracts.
Response: Attached are documents entitled COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT - PBA LOCAL 18 - JANUARY 2024 THROUGH DECEMBER 2027, and COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT - PBA LOCAL 18A SOA - JANUARY 2024 THROUGH DECEMBER 2027.
Request:2. North Bergen Police PBA Bylaws, Rules of Conduct, Code of Ethics.
Response: The Township has no record responsive to “North Bergen Police PBA Bylaws.” Responsive to “Rules of Conduct, Code of Ethics”, attached are NBPD General Order 16-05 Civilian Code of Ethics, NJ Local Government Ethics Law and Rules, NBPD Rules and Regulations, and NBPD General Order 16-05 Civilian Code of Ethics.
Request:3. North Bergen Police Rules and Regulations.
Response: Attached please find NBPD Rules and Regulations.
Request:4. North Bergen Police Internal Affairs Policy.
Response: Attached please find NBPD General Order 20-03 Internal Affairs Policy, and NJ Attorney General Directive 2020-7 Internal Affairs Policy and Procedures.
Request:5. North Bergen Police Policies on Workplace Harassment and Hostile Work Environment.
Response: Attached please find NBPD General Order 13-11 Sexual Harassment, and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (N.J.S.A 10:5-1 et seq.).
Request:6. North Bergen Township Attorney(s) contact information to include name, phone number, email, and mailing address, that handles workplace harassment and hostile work environment complaints against the Chief of Police.
Response: Your request is ambiguous, vague, and seeks information rather than seeking a specific record. Accordingly, your request is denied. (MAG Entm’t, LLC v. Div. of Alcoholic Beverage Control, 375 N.J. Super. 534 (App. Div. 2005)).
Request: 7. Grievance procedure to expel North Bergen Police Officers from the North Bergen PBA for violating and betraying the trust of its officers that were speaking out during a North Bergen PBA Union Meeting against the unfair and corrupt assignment of off duty details. The names of the officers were given to the Chief of Police where he then retaliated against them.
Response: The Township has no record responsive to this request.
Request: 8. North Bergen Police Department Personnel Order issued on or about 9/30/24 that reassigned multiple officers from their current assignment to an undesirable assignment without notice and with extreme prejudice by Chief Robert Farley in retaliation for officers speaking up at a PBA Union Meeting with regards to the unfair and corrupt assignment of off duty details to Chief Farley's closest friends.
Response: In response to “North Bergen Police Department Personnel Order,” your request is denied pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-9 (N.J.A.C. 13:1E-3.2). Additionally, the Township holds no record responsive to, “…Personnel Order …that reassigned multiple officers from their current assignment to an undesirable assignment without notice and with extreme prejudice by Chief Robert Farley in retaliation for officers speaking up at a PBA Union Meeting with regards to the unfair and corrupt assignment of off duty details to Chief Farley's closest friends.”
Request: 9. North Bergen Police Personnel Order issued on or about August 2024 reassigning Lieutenant Robert Ruiz from his steady administrative assignment to the less desirable patrol assignment without any justification by Chief Robert Farley to retaliate against. Lt. Ruiz because he too spoke up against the unfair selection process of off duty details.
Response: Your request for “North Bergen Police Department Personnel Order,” is denied pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-9 (N.J.A.C. 13:1E-3.2). The Township has no record responsive to, “North Bergen Police Personnel Order issued on or about August 2024 reassigning Lieutenant Robert Ruiz from his steady administrative assignment to the less desirable patrol assignment without any justification by Chief Robert Farley to retaliate against. Lt. Ruiz because he too spoke up against the unfair selection process of off duty details.”
You requested the same records under the common law. Unlike with OPRA, the burden to show that access to common law public records should be permitted lies with the requestor. “The common-law right to access public records depends on three requirements: (1) the records must be common-law public documents; (2) the person seeking access must ‘establish an interest in the subject matter of the material,’; and (3) the citizen's right to access ‘must be balanced against the State's interest in preventing disclosure.” Keddie v. Rutgers, 148 N.J. 36, 50, 689 A.2d 702, 709 (1997) (internal citations omitted). You have neither established that the records you seek are common-law public documents, identified an interest in the subject matter of such records, nor set forth how your need for disclosure outweighs the State’s clearly expressed, strong public policy interest in preventing such disclosure. Accordingly, your request is denied under common law.
As with any OPRA request, you have the right to challenge the decision by the Township with regards to your request. At your option, you may either institute a proceeding in the Superior Court of New Jersey or file a complaint with the Government Records Council (“GRC”) by completing the Denial of Access Complaint Form. You may contact the GRC by toll-free telephone at 866-850-0511, by mail at PO Box 819, Trenton, NJ 08625, by e-mail at [email address] or at their web site at https://www.nj.gov/grc. The GRC can also answer other questions about the law. All questions regarding complaints filed in Superior Court should be directed to the Court Clerk in the County in which you reside.
Thank you.
Erin Barillas, RMC
Township Clerk
Township of North Bergen
4233 Kennedy Blvd.
North Bergen, NJ 07047
e: [North Bergen Township request email]
o: 201-392-2024
f: 201-330-7694
www.northbergen.org