mandatory paid sick leave - njgca€¦ · orange, irvington, bloomfield, and montclair. ... most of...
TRANSCRIPT
MANDATORY PAID SICK LEAVE
Eric Blomgren
Associate Director of
Government Affairs
Disclaimer: Contents and presentation are not legal advice
WHY IS MANDATED PAID SICK LEAVE
BEING PUSHED?
~39% of workers nationally do not have access to
paid sick leave.
70% of low income workers do not have this benefit.
Issue is championed by labor unions and
progressive advocacy groups.
In 2014 it was determined to be the most heavily
lobbied issue in the Statehouse.
NATIONALLY
MUNICIPAL MADNESS
Groups turning to
local governments to
accomplish agendas
565 Local
governments
Tobacco-21
Plastic Bag Fees
Generator Mandates
Paid Sick Leave
NEW JERSEY TOWNS WITH
MANDATORY PAID SICK LEAVE
Jersey City
Newark
Paterson
Elizabeth
Passaic
East Orange
Irvington
Bloomfield
Montclair
Trenton
New Brunswick
STATEWIDE BILL HISTORY
Proposal was first introduced in May 2013
Passed the Assembly Labor Committee in October 2014
Passed the Assembly Budget Committee in December 2014
Passed the Senate Labor Committee in June 2015
Scheduled for a vote by the full Senate in June 2015 but pulled due to strong opposition
Scheduled again for a Senate vote in December 2015, passes 22-17
Both versions expired on January 12th, were immediately re-introduced
Senate breaks normal procedure and announces vote for February 11th.
STATEWIDE BATTLE LINES
Business Community vs. Worker Advocates
Conservatives vs. Moderates vs. Liberals
Senate vs. Assembly
“Preemption” is the issue
Governor Christie vs. Legislative Democrats
WHAT ARE THE SPECIFICS OF THE LAWS?
The laws already passed (and proposed
statewide) get very specific about how this leave
is treated.
Even businesses that already give out paid sick
leave to all their employees will be affected,
particularly because of the extra bookkeeping
The following slides apply to businesses in Jersey
City, Newark, Paterson, Elizabeth, Passaic, East
Orange, Irvington, Bloomfield, and Montclair.
Who is Covered?:
All employees who work within the city’s limits for at
least 80 hours per year.
What rate is it earned at:
1 hour of paid leave for every 30 hours worked
Begin earning on the 1st day of employment
It cannot be used until the 90th day of employment.
How much can be earned?
Businesses with 10 or more employees must provide
up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year.
Businesses with fewer than 10 employees must
provide up to 24 hours of paid sick leave per year.
Can employees carry forward unused paid leave?
Yes they can, up to 40 hours
Employee still can’t use more than 40/24 in a year.
Employer is allowed to pay the employee in exchange
for not carrying over the time.
If employee leaves the company but is rehired within
6 months, they get their paid leave back.
IT’S NOT JUST THE EMPLOYEE…
Employees are allowed to take their paid leave if
any of the following is sick:
Spouse
Child
Includes biological, adopted, foster, step-child
Sibling
Parent
Spouse’s parents (in-laws)
Employee’s grandchild
Employee’s grandparent
Employee’s grandparent’s spouse
AUTHORIZED USES OF PAID SICK LEAVE
Mental or physical illness, injury, or health
condition
Diagnosis, care, or treatment of that illness
Preventative medical care
Public Health Emergency
EMPLOYER/EMPLOYEE INTERACTION
If the use of the time is foreseeable, employer can require advance notice up to one week ahead of time.
If the use was not foreseeable, employee only has to inform employer “as soon as practicable”.
Employer is not allowed to require employee find a replacement for their shift.
Employer cannot require proof of actual illness unless employee uses time for 3 consecutive work days.
PAPERWORK
At the start of employment, every employee must
be given written notice of their rights under this
law.
Employer must display a poster in the business
detailing these rights
Municipal government has likely made posters
If employer does not maintain proper records, it
is assumed the employer broke the law.
ENFORCEMENT
Employer can be fined up to $2,000 for a
violation.
Every day that a violation occurs is a separate
violation
Must also pay the affected employee the time they
were denied
“Retaliation” by employer is prohibited
“Retaliation” is defined as “any threat, discipline,
discharge, suspension, demotion, reduction of hours,
or any other adverse action”.
THE NEW BRUNSWICK DIFFERENCE
Passed in December 2015.
New Brunswick follows almost all of the same
requirements, except the numbers involved are
slightly more beneficial to employers.
Employers with fewer than 5 employees are
exempted.
STATEWIDE BILL DIFFERENCES
If business has fewer than 10 employees, sick leave is capped at 40 hours per year.
If business has more than 10 employees, sick leave is capped at 72 hours per year.
Leave does not begin to accrue until employee has worked 100 days.
Employee can use leave for reasons related to domestic violence.
Definition of family members also includes sibling of employee’s spouse.
Records must be kept for 5 years.
S-799
A BRIEF NOTE ON THE MINIMUM WAGE
In November 2013 New Jersey voters decided to
amend the state constitution to increase the
minimum wage to $8.25 an hour and
automatically increase it based on inflation.
In January 2015 the wage was increased to $8.38
an hour.
In January 2016 it was determined that inflation
was low enough that the wage did not need to be
increased.
$15 AN HOUR
Most of the same advocates for mandatory paid sick leave have begun advocating for a drastic increase in the minimum wage: to $15 an hour for all employees
A handful of cities, including Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles have begun phasing in a $15 an hour minimum wage for all workers.
Sen. Bernie Sanders has called for the federal minimum wage to be increased to $15 an hour.
Hillary Clinton has said it should be $12 an hour nationally.
NEW JERSEY NOT SPARED On Monday Assembly Speaker Prieto (D)
introduced a bill to increase New Jersey’s minimum wage to $15 an hour, and then index it to inflation.
Yesterday Senate President Steve Sweeney (D) announced that he would be supporting a constitutional amendment that would ask voters to increase the wage $1 an hour every year until it reaches $15 an hour in 2024.
Last year a bill passed the Assembly Labor Committee to allow each municipality to set its own minimum wage (as long as it was higher than the statewide rate).
Head to www.njgca.org/summit
to view the proposed bill, language of the
ordinances, and for links to our “Legislative
Action Center” where you can contact your
legislators on these issues.