New Jersey’s lawmakers took another stab on Thursday at expanding the state’s paid family leave law.
At a hearing before the state Assembly Appropriations Committee, advocates continue to voice the need to see job protections extended statewide for workers who take family leave, regardless of the size of the employer.
Under the current law, those in businesses larger than 30 employees are able to return to that same job after their leave, and employers are required to maintain that absent employee’s benefits, including insurance. The new bill would extend it to all businesses with at least five employees.
“Paid leave really levels the playing field for all employers,” said Yarrow Willman-Cole, the workplace justice program director for the New Jersey Citizen Action. “Smaller employers may not be able to afford to pay maternity leave, parental leave, family leave themselves. So, what we have in New Jersey is a state program, and it’s actually funded only through employee payroll taxes and costs the employer nothing.”
Business groups oppose the new bill.
“The state chamber respectfully opposes this legislation because of the disproportionate impact it’s going to have on small business, so we ask the legislative body to vote no on this legislation and let small business owners decide what is best for their organization,” said Amirah Hussain, director of government relations for the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce said.
