ASSEMBLY, No. 442
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION
By Assemblymen ROMA and WOLFE
An Act authorizing public employers to provide employee assistance programs and supplementing P.L.1941, c.100 (C.34:13A-1 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature finds and declares that establishment and support of assistance programs for public employees and their families is in the best interest of the employees, their families and employers, and the citizens of the State of New Jersey, and that it is a valid public purpose to encourage the establishment and support of those programs, because research and experience has demonstrated that:
a. Employee assistance programs improve employee attendance and efficiency;
b. Employee assistance programs make it possible to avoid expensive and time consuming disciplinary proceedings by facilitating the resolution of employee problems;
c. Employee assistance programs reduce the cost of health insurance premiums and health services, through early intervention and resolution of problems which would otherwise require such services;
d. Employee assistance programs provide otherwise unavailable opportunities for employees to cope with personal problems which may cause job difficulties and inefficiencies;
e. Employee assistance programs improve employee morale, through enhancement of work performance, resolution of disciplinary difficulties, and avoiding and resolving conflict between employers and employees; and
f. Employee assistance programs provide a mechanism to prevent and eradicate alcohol and drug related problems.
2. For the purposes of this act:
"Employee assistance program" means a program in which a public employer contracts with a service provider to provide confidential assistance to the employer's employees and their dependents to resolve problems which may affect employee work performance, irrespective of whether the problems originate on the job, including, but not be limited to, marital and family problems, emotional problems, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, compulsive gambling, financial problems, and medical problems.
"Dependent" means an employee's spouse, an employee's unmarried child who is less than 23 years of age and lives with the employee in a regular parent-child relationship, or an employee's unmarried child of not less than 23 years of age who is not capable of self support. "Employee's child" includes any child, stepchild, legally adopted child, or foster child of the employee who is reported for coverage and dependent upon the employee for support and maintenance.
"Employee" means a public employee.
"Public employer" means the State of New Jersey, or the several counties and municipalities thereof, or any other political subdivision of the State, or a school district, or any special district, or any authority, including a bistate authority, or any commission, or board, or any branch or agency of the public service.
3. Any employee assistance program shall constitute a form of compensation which may be established through a negotiated agreement between the majority representative of the employees in an appropriate bargaining unit and a public employer, or established by a public employer through the adoption of a policy which conforms to the requirements of this act.
4. No employee or dependent of an employee shall be charged to participate in an employee assistance program.
5. No employee or dependent of an employee shall be required to participate in the employee assistance program. No refusal by an employee or dependent to participate in an employee assistance program shall be grounds for dismissal, transfer, reduction in salary, discipline, negative evaluation, reprimand, refusal to promote or any other adverse action against the employee.
6. The services provided by employee assistance programs shall be available to both employees and their dependents. Employee assistance programs may provide advice, counselling, treatment, and other assistance, except that nothing in this act shall be construed to authorize a person to provide any service in connection with an employee assistance program without holding the license required by law to provide the service.
7. a. Except as provided in subsection b. of this section, each request by an employee or dependent for assistance from, referral to, or participation in an employee assistance program shall be confidential, and no employer, service provider or other person shall divulge to any person that an employee or dependent has requested assistance from, been referred to, or participated in an employee assistance program. The requirement of confidentiality shall apply to all information related to an employee assistance program, including but not limited to any statements, materials, documents, evaluations, impressions, conclusions, findings, or acts taken in the course of, or in connection with, the program. If, however, an employer documents to the employee assistance program that the employee has accepted a referral by an employer for assistance during normal working hours with sick leave or other paid leave, the employer shall be entitled to know whether the employee has kept his appointment and the amount of time of the appointment.
b. The requirements for confidentiality provided for in subsection a. of this section may be waived only if:
(1) The employee or dependent to whom the information applies has requested and authorized the waiver;
(2) The waiver is in writing and specifies the information to be released and the persons to whom the information may be provided; and
(3) The information released is the information authorized for release by the employee or dependent and released only to the persons designated by the employee or dependent.
8. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill provides guidelines for the establishment and support of employee assistance programs designed to help resolve employee problems which may affect work performance, including marital and family problems, emotional problems, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, compulsive gambling, financial problems, and medical problems. Research and experience have shown that such programs provide substantial benefits to employers, employees, their families and the public. This bill permits any public employer to contract with a service provider to establish an employee assistance program through a negotiated agreement with the majority representative of the employees or through the adoption of a policy which conforms to the requirements of this act.
The bill requires that information regarding services provided to an employee through an employee assistance program be confidential, unless an employee provides a written waiver. The confidentiality requirement applies to all information related to the services provided to the employee by the program, except that if the employee accepts a referral by the employer for assistance during normal working hours with pay, the employer is entitled to know whether the employee has kept the appointment and the amount of time of the appointment.
This bill requires that services provided under each program be available to employees and their dependents, that the imposition of charges on employees or dependents to participate be prohibited, that participation be voluntary and that employer actions may not be taken against employees just for choosing not to participate.
Permits establishment of employee assistance programs for public employees.