Opinion ID: 1540960
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Contractual Waiver

Text: We turn to the Board's contention that the Association has waived any statutory right it may have possessed to present grievances in its own name by agreeing to the provision of the collective agreement which limits the right of grievance presentation to the individual employees. The propriety of a contractual waiver of statutory rights is well-established in the private sector. See National Labor Relations Board v. Magnavox Co., 415 U.S. 322, 94 S.Ct. 1099, 39 L.Ed. 2d 358 (1974); Mastro Plastics v. National Labor Relations Board, 350 U.S. 270, 86 S.Ct. 1862, 16 L.Ed. 2d 682 (1956). To be given effect, any such waiver must be clearly and unmistakably established, and contractual language alleged to constitute a waiver will not be read expansively. United Steelworkers v. National Labor Relations Board, 536 F. 2d 550, 555 (3 Cir.1976). However, we need not consider the applicability of the waiver doctrine in public employment labor relations in New Jersey in this case. We have today held that when a specific statute sets a term or condition of public employment, a negotiated agreement in contravention of that statute is not authorized by the Employer-Employee Relations Act. State v. State Supervisory Employees Ass'n, 78 N.J. 54 (1978). Employee rights with respect to the presentation of grievances to their employer clearly qualify as terms and conditions of their employment. We have held that the relevant sentence of N.J.S.A. 34:13A-5.3 mandates the right of unit employees to have their grievances presented through their majority representative. The statute thus sets that particular term of public employment. Since a contractual waiver of that right of the employees would necessarily contravene the command of N.J.S.A. 34:13A-5.3, it could not be given effect. The waiver doctrine is not relevant with respect to terms and conditions of public employment set by statute. We hold that the employees' right to have grievances presented through their majority representative is a term and condition of employment set by statute and, accordingly, may not be modified by negotiated agreement.