SENATE HEALTH, HUMAN SERVICES AND SENIOR CITIZENS COMMITTEE

 

STATEMENT TO

 

SENATE, No. 2786

 

with committee amendments

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

DATED:  AUGUST 21, 2020

 

      The Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 2786.

     As amended by the committee, this bill allows employees in long-term care facilities to earn paid sick leave.

     Current law requires employers to provide their employees with accumulated paid sick leave at a rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked.  However, the requirement does not apply to per diem health care employees, other than certified homemaker-home health aides.  The bill revises this exception to provide that long-term care facilities will also be required to provide their employees with accumulated paid sick leave.  In the case of employees placed with a long-term care facility by a temporary help service firm, sick leave will accumulate through the temporary help service firm.

     The paid sick leave will begin to accrue on the effective date of the bill, but long-term care facility employees will be credited with earned sick leave for any hours worked between March 9, 2020, which is the date the state of emergency and public health emergency were declared in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and the effective date of the bill.  Current long-term care facility employees will be entitled to begin using any accumulated sick leave at any time that is 90 days after the date the employee commenced employment or placement with the facility.  The standard requirements for accrual and use of paid sick leave will apply to long-term care facility employees who commence employment after the effective date of the bill.

 

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amendments clarify that the expanded sick leave requirement will include long-term care facility staff placed with a facility by a temporary help service firm.

      The committee amendments revise the date by which current long-term care facility staff will be allowed to begin to use the accrued sick leave from 30 days after the effective date of the bill to 60 days after the effective date of the bill.

      The committee amendments make various technical changes to clarify the scope and effect of the amendatory provisions of the bill, as well as to clarify the definition of “child” as set forth in current statute.