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January 15, 2010

Three Pro-labor Bills Signed into Law by Acting Governor Sweeney

The New Jersey State AFL-CIO thanks Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-3), in his role as Acting Governor, for signing into law yesterday three bills supported by the New Jersey State AFL-CIO.

The first law (A-4327 / S-3093: Lampitt / Coutinho / Evans / Madden / Baroni) establishes the NJ PLACE (New Jersey Pathways Leading to a College Education) program for apprentices of building and construction trade unions. Under the program, apprentices can receive college credits for accredited apprenticeship programs and apply those credits towards a 2 or 4 year college degree.  The New Jersey State AFL-CIO is working with other unions to expand the program to cover additional sectors that have apprenticeship programs.

The second law is S-3065 / A-4289 (Sweeney / Madden / Burzichelli / Johnson / Moriarty).  The law requires an annual adjustment to the rate of contribution to be paid by workers into the Family Temporary Disability Leave Account.  The amount would be according to a formula established by the bill. The bill seeks to prevent unnecessary or excessive money from building up in the fund while at the same time ensuring the lowest possible employee contribution to fund the program. The bill also allows for a partial refund to workers that are paying additional money into the fund due to having two or more jobs.

The third bill is SCS S-2773 / ACS A-3919 (Sweeney / Madden / Burzichelli / Johnson / Murphy).  The law concerns the suspension and revocation of employer licenses for repeated violations of wage, benefit and tax laws.

If you have questions or require additional information, please contact our Legislative Affairs Coordinator Eric Richard at 609-989-8730.

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