SENATE, No. 2026
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
INTRODUCED APRIL 21, 1997
By Senator LESNIAK
An Act concerning family leave and amending and supplementing P.L.1989, c.261.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 3 of P.L.1989, c.261 (C.34:11B-3) is amended to read as follows:
3. As used in this act:
a. "Child" means a biological, adopted, or foster child, stepchild, legal ward, or child of a parent who is
(1) under 18 years of age; or
(2) 18 years of age or older but incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical impairment.
b. "Director" means the Director of the Division on Civil Rights.
c. "Division" means the Division on Civil Rights in the Department of Law and Public Safety.
d. "Employ" means to suffer or permit to work for compensation, and includes ongoing, contractual relationships in which the employer retains substantial direct or indirect control over the employee's employment opportunities or terms and conditions of employment.
e. "Employee" means a person who is employed for at least 12 months by an employer, with respect to whom benefits are sought under this act, for not less than 1,000 base hours during the immediately preceding 12-month period.
f. "Employer" means a person or corporation, partnership, individual proprietorship, joint venture, firm or company or other similar legal entity which engages the services of an employee and which:
(1) With respect to the period of time from the effective date of this act until the 365th day following the effective date of this act, employs 100 or more employees for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the then current or immediately preceding calendar year;
(2) With respect to the period of time from the 366th day following the effective date of this act until the 1,095th day following the effective date of this act, employs 75 or more employees for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the then current or immediately preceding calendar year; and
(3) With respect to any time after the 1,095th day following the effective date of this act, employs 50 or more employees for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the then current or immediately preceding calendar year. "Employer" includes the State, any political subdivision thereof, and all public offices, agencies, boards or bodies.
g. "Employment benefits" means all benefits and policies provided or made available to employees by an employer, and includes group life insurance, health insurance, disability insurance, sick leave, annual leave, pensions, or other similar benefits.
h. "Parent" means a person who is the biological parent, adoptive parent, foster parent, step-parent, parent-in-law or legal guardian, having a "parent-child relationship" with a child as defined by law, or having sole or joint legal or physical custody, care, guardianship, or visitation with a child.
i. "Family leave" means leave from employment so that the employee may [provide]:
(1) Provide care made necessary by reason of [:
(1)] the birth of a child of the employee;
[(2)] the placement of a child with the employee in connection with adoption of such child by the employee; or
[(3)] the serious health condition of a family member of the employee;
(2) Participate in school activities directly related to the educational advancement of a child of the employee;
(3) Accompany the child to routine medical or dental appointments, including checkups or vaccinations;
(4) Accompany an elderly family member to routine medical or dental appointments or other professional services related to the elderly family member’s care, including interviewing at nursing or group homes;
(5) Participate in literacy training under a family literacy program; or
(6) Deal with domestic violence and its aftermath.
j. "Family member" means a child, parent, or spouse.
k. "Reduced leave schedule" means leave scheduled for fewer than an employee's usual number of hours worked per workweek but not for fewer than an employee's usual number of hours worked per workday, unless agreed to by the employee and the employer.
l. "Serious health condition" means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition which requires:
(1) inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility; or
(2) continuing medical treatment or continuing supervision by a health care provider.
m. "Certified domestic violence specialist" means a person who has fulfilled the requirements for certification as a domestic violence specialist established by the New Jersey Association of Domestic Violence Professionals;
n. “Deal with domestic violence and its aftermath” means: experiencing domestic violence; obtaining medical attention for injuries caused by domestic violence; obtaining legal assistance or remedies, including communicating with police or attorneys, or participating in any legal proceeding related to domestic violence; attending support groups for victims of domestic violence; obtaining psychological counseling related to experiences of domestic violence; participating in safety planning and other actions to increase safety from future domestic violence, including temporary or permanent relocation.
o. "Designated domestic violence agency" means a county-wide organization with a primary purpose to provide services to victims of domestic violence, and which provides services that conform to the core domestic violence services profile as defined by the Division of Youth and Family Services in the Department of Human Services and which is under contract with the division for the express purpose of providing such services.
p. “Domestic violence” means domestic violence as defined in section 3 of P.L.1991, c.261 (C.2C:25-19).
q. “Elderly family member” means a family member who is not less than 60 years old.
r. “Family literacy program” means a program of services that integrates all of the following activities: interactive literacy activities between parents and their children; training for parents on how to be full partners in the education of their children; and parent literacy training.
s. “Literacy” means the ability to speak, read and write English, and compute and solve problems, at levels of proficiency necessary to function successfully at work, in one’s family and as a citizen in society.
t. “School” means any public school or private school, as defined in N.J.S.18A:1-1.
(cf: P.L.1989, c.261, s.3)
2. Section 4 of P.L.1989, c.261 (C.34:11B-4) is amended to read as follows:
4. An employee of an employer in this State subject to the provisions of this act shall be entitled to a family leave of 12 weeks in any 24-month period upon advance notice to the employer, unless the employer denies family leave to the employee pursuant to subsection h. of this section, and except that the employee shall be entitled to the additional 24 hours of family leave made available by the provisions of section 3 of P.L.1997, c. (C. ) (now before the Legislature as this bill.).
a. In the case of a family member who has a serious health condition, the leave may be taken intermittently when medically necessary, if:
(1) The total time within which the leave is taken does not exceed a 12-month period for each serious health condition episode;
(2) The employee provides the employer with prior notice of the leave in a manner which is reasonable and practicable; and
(3) The employee makes a reasonable effort to schedule the leave so as not to disrupt unduly the operations of the employer.
b. In the case of the birth or adoption of a healthy child, the leave may be taken intermittently if agreed to by the employer and the employee.
c. Leave taken because of the birth or placement for adoption of a child may commence at any time within a year after the date of the birth or placement for adoption.
d. Family leave required by this act, including leave provided pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1997, c. (C. ) (now before the Legislature as this bill.) may be paid, unpaid, or a combination of paid and unpaid leave. If an employer provides paid family leave for fewer than 12 workweeks, the additional weeks of leave added to attain the 12-workweek total required by this act may be unpaid.
e. An employer may require that any period of family leave related to a serious health condition of a family member of the employee or the birth or placement for adoption of the employee’s child be supported by certification issued by a duly licensed health care provider or any other health care provider determined by the director to be capable of providing adequate certification.
(1) Where the certification is for the serious health condition of a family member of the employee, the certification shall be sufficient if it states: (a) the date on which the serious health condition commenced; (b) the probable duration of the condition; and (c) the medical facts within the provider's knowledge regarding the condition; (2) Where the certification is for the birth or placement for adoption of the child, the certification need only state the date of birth or date of placement, whichever is appropriate.
In any case in which the employer has reason to doubt the validity of the certification provided pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection, the employer may require, at its own expense, that an employee obtain an opinion regarding the serious health condition from a second health care provider designated or approved, but not employed on a regular basis, by the employer. If the second opinion differs from the certification provided pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection, the employer may require, at its own expense, that the employee obtain the opinion of a third health care provider designated or approved jointly by the employer and the employee concerning the serious health condition. The opinion of the third health care provider shall be considered to be final and shall be binding on the employer and the employee.
An employer may require that any period of family leave related to domestic violence be supported by a statement from the employee along with documentation that the employee is using the leave to deal with domestic violence and its aftermath. Any of the following shall be regarded as sufficient documentation that an employee is using the leave to deal with domestic violence and its aftermath: a restraining order or other form of equitable relief issued by a court of competent jurisdiction; a police record documenting the domestic violence; documentation that the perpetrator of the domestic violence has been convicted of one or more of the offenses enumerated in section 3 of P.L.1991, c.261 (C.2C:25-19); medical documentation of the domestic violence; certification from a certified domestic violence specialist or the director of a designated domestic violence agency that the individual is a victim of domestic violence; or other documentation or certification of the domestic violence provided by a social worker, member of the clergy, shelter worker or other professional who has assisted the individual in dealing with the domestic violence and its aftermath.
f. In any case in which the necessity for leave under this act is foreseeable, based upon an expected birth or placement of the child for adoption, the employee shall provide the employer with prior notice of the expected birth or placement of the child for adoption in a manner which is reasonable and practicable.
g. No employee shall, during any period of leave taken pursuant to this section, perform services on a full-time basis for any person for whom the employee did not provide those services immediately prior to commencement of the leave.
h. An employer may deny family leave to the employee if:
(1) The employee is a salaried employee who is among the highest paid 5% of the employer's employees or the seven highest paid employees of the employer, whichever is greater;
(2) The denial is necessary to prevent substantial and grievous economic injury to the employer's operations; and
(3) The employer notifies the employee of its intent to deny the leave at the time the employer determines that the denial is necessary.
i. In any case in which the leave has already commenced at the time of the notification pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection h. of this section, the employee shall return to work within 10 working days of the date of notification.
(cf: P.L.1989, c.261, s.4)
3. (New section) An employee of an employer subject to the provisions of P.L.1989, c.261 (C.34:11B-1 et seq.), shall be entitled to, in addition to the 12 weeks of family leave to which the employee is entitled during any 24-month period pursuant to the provisions of section 4 of P.L.1989, c.261 (C:34:11B-4), a total of 24 hours of leave during any 12-month period to:
a. Participate in school activities directly related to the educational advancement of a child of the employee, including parent-teacher conferences, classroom observations and interviewing for a new school;
b. Accompany the child to routine medical or dental appointments, including checkups or vaccinations;
c. Accompany an elderly family member to routine medical or dental appointments or other professional services related to the elder family member’s care, including interviewing at nursing or group homes; or
d. Participate in literacy training under a family literacy program.
Leave taken pursuant to this section may be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule pursuant to the provisions of sections 3 and 5 of P.L.1989, c.261 (C.34:11B-3 and 34:11B-5). If the necessity for leave taken pursuant to this section is foreseeable, the employee shall provide the employer with notice not less than seven days before the leave. If the necessity for leave is not foreseeable, the employee shall provide the employer with such notice as soon as is practicable.
4. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill amends the “Family Leave Act,” P.L.1989, c.261 (C.34:11B-1 et seq.) to provide up to 24 hours of leave time during any 12-month period for an employee covered under that act so that the employee may:
1. Participate in school activities directly related to the educational advancement of a child of the employee;
2. Accompany the child to routine medical or dental appointments, including checkups or vaccinations;
3. Accompany an elderly family member to routine medical or dental appointments or other professional services related to the elderly family member’s care, including interviewing at nursing or group homes; or
4. Participate in literacy training under a family literacy program.
The bill also permits an employee to use the leave time provided by the existing law, up to 12 weeks during any two-year period, to deal with domestic violence and its aftermath.
Concerns family leave.