Borough of East Rutherford v. East Rutherford PBA Local 275

The majority affirms the Appellate Division panel’s judgment upholding the arbitration award as a “reasonably debatable” construction of the parties’ collectively bargained agreement (CBA). Ante at 193-94, 61 A.3d at 943-44. It endorses the arbitrator’s mandate that the $5.00 increase in employee co-payment per doctor visit for participants in the State Health Benefits Program (SHBP), required by N.J.S.A. 52:14-17.29(0, should be paid by the Borough of East Rutherford (Borough), not by the covered employees as the statute envisions. See ante at 206-08, 61 A.3d at 951-52. Because the CBA…