New policy would put kibosh on unwritten rule Creates guidelines over children in workplace to limit liability BY TOM CAIAZZA Staff Writer EDISON - The township is preparing a policy concerning children in the workplace after council member Antonia Ricigliano raised the issue over fears that it could affect the liability of the township in several ways. Ricigliano said that while at town hall on Aug. 24, she noticed that a child was at the computer in the tax collector's office while a resident was paying a tax bill. Ricigliano said that the chance for a mistake in the collection of money could result in a liability issue for the township. The situation has raised concern over the permission to allow children in the workplace within the municipality. At this point, the township does not have a written policy on children being allowed to accompany their parents to work. "Historically, there has been an unwritten policy that employees have been allowed to bring children to the workplace when approved by their immediate adviser," said Jerry Barca, communications director for the administration. "Until recently, this administration has never had any complaints." Barca said that though the issue has not come up before, they are looking into a reasonable solution. "We are going to look into it and we will address this issue with the commitment that will be fair to our employees and our township residents," Barca said. In the case of the tax collector's office, Ricigliano said that no one other than authorized personnel is allowed behind the desk of the tax collector and likened that situation to going behind the desk of a bank teller. "If you go into a bank, the doors are locked and tellers have a key or have to be buzzed in," Ricigliano said. "Why would it be any different in the township? The tax collector's office needs to be more secure than other offices." Ricigliano said that the township collects upward of $250 million in tax money each year (the township is in charge of collecting the school's taxes), and having extra people in that office could increase the risk of accounting errors or missing funds, making the township liable. Ricigliano said that she was not satisfied with the response she received from the administration at first and decided to go public only after hearing that other residents had noticed the same thing. Her original intent was to address the issue internally. She said she thought the administration's response to the issue was too "cavalier" and that it would take a public outcry to get something done. Barca said he was skeptical of Ricigliano's motives. "It is curious that this issue comes up now, when Councilwoman Ricigliano served on the council almost a decade ago, the town had the same policy, and she never brought this up," Barca said.