IN RE N.J.A.C. 17:2-6.5 (PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM) (A-2059-18)
The New Jersey Education Association challenged a regulation of the Public Employee Retirement System Board that amended the definition of "willful negligence." The definition is important because a public employee seeking an accidental disability pension must prove that his or her disability did not result from his or her willful negligence. The court invalidates the regulation because it strays from the Legislature’s intent to include an element of recklessness in "willful negligence," and because the regulation’s plain language contradicts the Board’s own reasoning in defense of its proposal.
