The New Jersey Supreme Court disagreed with an Appellate Division opinion limiting an arbitrator’s authority, holding instead that the Tenure Employees Hearing Law provides the basis to refer a case to arbitration but does not limit an arbitrator’s authority to impose penalties.

The case, Sanjuan v. School District of West New York, stems from an incident at Memorial High School in West New York in which an assistant principal, Amada Sanjuan, fell down a stairway on Feb. 12, 2020. The next day, Sanjuan told the school district’s benefits coordinator that she saw a piece of paper on the steps, then slipped and lost her balance, hitting her head on the concrete floor. But a surveillance video of the stairwell showed Sanjuan falling down the steps, then taking a piece of paper out of her purse, walking halfway up the stairs and placing the piece of paper on a step, according to the Appellate Division opinion in the case.