Camden County was left holding a $28,922.95 bill after the sisters made international personal calls.
CAMDEN -- Two Camden County Board of Social Services employees who reportedly spent hours on the phone making calls to the Dominican Republic -- while they were on the clock -- were unable to appeal their firings.
Wanda Fernandez and Werfy Fernandez, who are sisters and served social services clients, appealed a June 2014 decision by the state Civil Service Commission that found the two failed to perform their duties and were involved in conduct unbecoming of a public employee.
According to the decision rendered Tuesday by judges Susan Reisner and George Leone, the sisters racked up tens to hundreds of hours in overseas calls between 2010 and 2011 using their employer's telephone.
The offenses cost Camden County a combined $28,922.95, according to court documents.
The matter, which was previously heard before an administrative law judge in 2014, resulted in the sisters losing their jobs due to their "sufficiently egregious" behavior that went on while they were being paid.
The two, who represented themselves in court, appealed on the grounds of termination being "excessive and unfair."
However, the Superior Court judges sided with the civil service commission and said the firings were not disproportionate to offenses and thus not "shocking to our sense of fairness."
Greg Adomaitis may be reached at gadomaitis@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregAdomaitis. Find NJ.com on Facebook.