Mike Wallace, Vice President
Legislation to expand New Jersey’s paid family leave law was held by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee today.
S-2528, which had been expected to receive a vote this afternoon, would double the length of time employees could take leave from work from six weeks to 12 and increase the income benefit they would receive while they were out. It also would include more small businesses, requiring those with only 30 employees or more to comply. Current law only applies to businesses with 50 or more employees.
“Small businesses are already scrambling to comply with a new paid sick leave law and new reporting requirements under a new pay equity law,” NJBIA Vice President of Government Affairs Mike Wallace told the committee. “In light of these and other cumulative costs on small and medium size businesses through current legislative efforts and in the proposed budget, we strongly urge our policymakers to take a pause and assess the impact this legislation and other policy initiatives will have on New Jersey’s business climate.”
New Jersey is already one of only four states that have implemented a paid family leave law, and the benefits are already very generous. Expanding the length of paid family leave will force small businesses to pay more overtime to workers or hire replacement employees for longer periods of time. With the legislation lowering the exemption threshold from 50 to 30 employees, more small businesses will be adversely impacted.
While the bill was held today, it could be rescheduled for a vote at any time.
There’s a huge opportunity here for the NJBIA to give small business the tools and resources they may need to accommodate these new laws. Organizations like PL+US (Paid Leave US) have a lot of resources here that can support businesses support these laws not just in practice but in building the necessary culture it takes to support it.
NJBIA needs to help us now. This administration in NJ State has left me with little alternative but to seek a different state to have my operations. Paid leave will double the burden of an employer. We cannot operate with missing personnel, they need to be replaced. Why does the burden get passed to the small business rather than spread out over the entire tax base?
Think for a moment on special needs children in NJ schools.
If one enters a school district, that district must accommodate the needs of that child.
That cost, an elevator, a full time aid, a special lift in the bathroom, it is all paid by the district. The taxpayers equally share the burden.
Paid leave requires a private entity to pay for the employee being absent and their replacement. That is not equitable and is discriminatory.
95% of my customers is spread across the USA and 99% of my competition is out of state. I can not raise prices because my competition has lower employer costs and lower operating costs. In essence, we bring revenue from outside NJ. It is time to move to a more business friendly state that appreciates the dollars we bring from other states.
This law is just another way to increase employee and employer tax revenues for the state as it would force many businesses to hire more employees for the missing work time.
Murphy lives in a bubble protected by our money.
Time off for about a quarter of the year?! It’s all about the almighty dollar for the state.