TRENTON N.J. Legislation allowing restaurant employees and other workers in New Jersey to take paid leave to care for a new child or a sick relative could be passed as soon as Monday if the Senate approves a bill that was pushed through the state Assembly in 46-30 vote on Thursday.
Gov. Jon Corzine said he would sign the bill, which would permit workers to take six weeks of leave at about two-thirds of their regular pay, to a maximum of $500 per week. The measure would go into effect next year.
The workers’ wages would be generated through an employee-paid payroll deduction of approximately $33 per year. The bill approved Thursday was amended to shield businesses with 50 or fewer employees from being sued if they choose not to rehire the workers when the paid leave ceases, said Deborah Dowdell, president of the New Jersey Restaurant Association.
If the Senate does not pass the legislation on Monday, the state’s business community would have another two months to influence the bill because the Senate will recess until May, Dowdell said.
Currently, unpaid sick leave in New Jersey is mandated by both federal and state legislation.
