TRENTON N.J. State Senate action has been postponed until at least May on legislation that would allow workers in New Jersey to take six weeks of paid leave to care for a new child or a sick relative.
The state's business community can take advantage of the Senate's two-month recess to seek changes in the measure, said Deborah Dowdell, president of the New Jersey Restaurant Association.
Gov. Jon Corzine has said he would sign the bill, which would permit workers to take the 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 bill passed last week by the state Assembly was amended to shield businesses with 50 or fewer employees from being sued if they choose not to rehire workers after a paid leave ends, Dowdell said. Wages paid during covered leaves would be funded through payroll deductions that would cost each employee in the state a maximum of 64 cents per week, or $33 a year.