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

M ANDATORY P AID S ICK L EAVE Eric Blomgren Associate Director of Government Affairs Disclaimer: Contents and presentation are not legal advice

W HY IS M ANDATED P AID S ICK L EAVE B EING P USHED ?  ~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.

N ATIONALLY

M UNICIPAL M ADNESS  Groups turning to local governments to accomplish agendas  565 Local governments  Tobacco-21  Plastic Bag Fees  Generator Mandates  Paid Sick Leave

N EW J ERSEY T OWNS WITH M ANDATORY P AID S ICK L EAVE  Jersey City  Newark  Paterson  Elizabeth  Passaic  East Orange  Irvington  Bloomfield  Montclair  Trenton  New Brunswick

S TATEWIDE B ILL H ISTORY  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 12 th , were immediately re-introduced  Senate breaks normal procedure and announces vote for February 11 th .

S TATEWIDE B ATTLE L INES  Business Community vs. Worker Advocates  Conservatives vs. Moderates vs. Liberals  Senate vs. Assembly  “Preemption” is the issue  Governor Christie vs. Legislative Democrats

W HAT ARE THE S PECIFICS OF THE L AWS ?  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 1 st day of employment  It cannot be used until the 90 th 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.

I T ’ S N OT J UST THE E MPLOYEE …  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

A UTHORIZED U SES OF P AID S ICK L EAVE  Mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition  Diagnosis, care, or treatment of that illness  Preventative medical care  Public Health Emergency

E MPLOYER /E MPLOYEE I NTERACTION  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.

P APERWORK  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.

E NFORCEMENT  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”.

T HE N EW B RUNSWICK D IFFERENCE  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.

S TATEWIDE B ILL D IFFERENCES  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 M INIMUM W AGE  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 H OUR  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.

N EW J ERSEY N OT S PARED  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.