[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Township of Clinton 11-8-2000 by Ord. No. 736-00. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Personnel policies — See Ch. 29.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
Any officer, employee, agent or servant, whether or not compensated
or part-time, who is authorized to perform any act or service.
It is the policy of the Township to provide full and complete protection
to all of its employees from and against any and all suits, claims and demands
in regard to their respective activities arising out of and related to their
public duties and public employment to the maximum extent permitted by law
(N.J.S.A. 59:10-4) and in accordance with the following standards:
A.
Whenever an employee of the Township is a defendant in
any action or legal proceeding arising out of or incidental to the performance
of his or her duties, the Township will provide said employee with necessary
means for the defense of such action or proceeding through the Township Attorney
or other counsel selected by the Township, but not for his or her defense
in a disciplinary proceeding instituted against him or her by the Township,
or in a criminal proceeding instituted as a result of a complaint on behalf
of the Township. If any such disciplinary or criminal proceeding instituted
by or on complaint of the Township shall be dismissed or finally determined
in favor of the employee, he or she shall be reimbursed for the reasonable
expense of his or her defense (up to the hourly rate of the Township Attorney).
In no event shall there be reimbursement hereunder for any disciplinary or
criminal proceeding instituted against an employee by or on complaint of the
Township, unless the matter has been assigned for investigation by the Township
Attorney, Special Township Attorney, or at formal hearing before the Township
Council, as a whole, and there is a determination that such reimbursement
is justified.
B.
The Township will indemnify any such employee defendant
and hold him or her harmless from any award of monetary damages in such legal
proceeding and from any and all legal costs and expenses incurred in connection
with such action regardless of the limits of insurance coverage available
to the Township.
C.
In any such legal proceeding, the Township will waive
any rights for contribution, indemnification or reimbursement, from such employee
on account of any monetary damages awarded against such employee or for any
legal expense or other costs incurred in connection with any such actions,
whether or not such amount exceeds insurance coverage available to the Township.
D.
The Township will not be responsible for legal costs
and expenses incurred by any such employee relative to the retention of separate
counsel on behalf of said employee unless the Township specifically approved
the nature of costs and separate counsel retained by the employee in advance
together with the fees and costs that can be anticipated.
E.
None of the rights and benefits outlined above shall
be afforded to an employee if it is established that his or her conduct was
outside the scope of his or her employment or constituted a crime, actual
fraud, actual malice or willful misconduct.
