M ANDATORY P AID S ICK L EAVE Eric Blomgren Associate Director of - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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,

• r 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

• wn 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

• rdinances, and for links to our “Legislative

Action Center” where you can contact your legislators on these issues.