More than 500 NJBIA members, who attended two briefings in Woodbridge on July 22, were among the first to learn about New Jersey’s second-in-the-nation paid leave law and how it will affect their businesses.
They learned that every New Jersey employer, no matter how small, will have to comply with the NJ Paid Family Leave Act. They also learned that compliance with the new law will be complicated by how it overlaps with State and federal laws that already provide for unpaid leave, temporary disability benefits, and protection against discrimination.
Two employment law experts who spoke at the briefing said some areas of the law will remain murky even after the NJ Department of Labor issues its rules and procedures this fall.
“The bad news is that we have no idea what’s to come,” said Katherin Nukk-Freeman, a partner with the law firm of Nukk-Freeman & Cerra P.C. “The interpretation of the law most likely awaits litigation.”
The law does not require small employers (those with 2-49 employees) to hold the jobs of employees taking paid leave, said attorney Kathleen M. Connelly. However, she said, if a small employer does terminate an employee on leave, they could become the target of a lawsuit challenging that exemption.
“If you let employees go, you may well end up being a test case!” said Connelly, an employment law specialist with Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper P.C.
The paid leave act, signed in May by Governor Jon Corzine, provides six weeks of paid leave annually for employees who need to care for a newborn or adopted child or a seriously ill family member.
To pay for the program, the new law will increase payroll taxes on all workers starting January 1, 2009. Starting on July 1, 2009, eligible employees will be able to take up to six weeks of paid leave. They will receive two-thirds of their normal pay, up to a current maximum of $524 per week.
NJBIA Vice President John Rogers, who moderated the program, pointed out that while the new law will be a burden to New Jersey employers, it would have been much worse if NJBIA members hadn’t opposed the bill in such large numbers. NJBIA member companies sent more than 20,000 messages to legislators as the bill was coming to a final vote in the spring.
The New
Jersey Business & Industry Association Thanks its
2008 Paid Family Leave Briefing Sponsors
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