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Resident raises complaint at board meeting about HR handling of employee disability benefit denial
Summary
A resident read a letter from his wife — a district employee diagnosed with cancer — alleging that human-resources accounting of hours led to a temporary disability denial and that HR communication was delayed and unhelpful; the matter was presented as public comment and board members did not take formal action during the meeting.
During the public-comment period a Vernon Township resident, Robert Kennedy, read a letter written by his wife, who is a district employee and a special-needs aide. The letter said that in February 2025 the employee was granted family leave after a stage-3 cancer diagnosis but that a state temporary-disability claim was denied in March because the district’s human-resources records indicated she had not worked the 1,250 hours required in a 12-month period. The writer said the employee had worked summer hours across nine years and questioned the HR accounting.
The letter and Mr. Kennedy’s remarks described repeated attempts to reach human-resources staff for an explanation and a timeline of follow-up calls. The couple reported that HR later identified an additional 80 hours, which they said came after an extended period during which their messages were not returned. The letter also described being redirected to an NJEA representative; the NJEA contact, Mr. Kennedy said, was working to escalate the matter.
Board members briefly discussed procedures for public comment and meeting rules during the exchange but did not take formal action or direct immediate personnel follow-up in public session. The board chair reminded the speaker of public-comment time limits. Administrators and board members did not dispute the public commenter’s account on the record during the meeting; staff response offered on the record was limited to procedural reminders about internal processes and referrals to union representation.
The matter appears to be a personnel-level dispute concerning benefits eligibility and HR recordkeeping. The public record does not show any board-level intervention or a formal HR response during the meeting; the commenter said he would pursue follow-up with the NJEA and expected direct HR review of the employee’s hours. Board members did not vote or set a timeline for a board-led inquiry during the public session.
