Today, the New Jersey State AFL-CIO testified before the Labor Committee in support of A4772 (Verrelli D-15/ Egan D-17/ DeAngelo D-14) which concerns unemployment insurance benefits during labor disputes. Assemblyman Sampson (D-31) is also supporting the bill as a cosponsor.
The bill reduces the waiting period for striking and locked out workers to receive unemployment insurance from 4 weeks to 2 weeks.
Additionally, the bill closes several loopholes in current law that result in workers being denied unemployment insurance when they go on strike.
Workers should not have to suffer significant financial hardships when they stand with their coworkers and fight for better wages, benefits, and workplace safety conditions.
A4772 was approved 8-1 by the Assembly Labor Committee, with Chairman Egan (D-17), Vice-Chair Verrelli (D-15), and Assemblymembers Swift (R-2), Catalano (R-10), Atkins (D-20), Moriarty (D-4), Sampson (D-31), Assemblywoman Sumter (D-35) in favor and Assemblyman Space (R-24) opposed.
To read the full testimony submitted to the committee, click here.
The New Jersey State AFL-CIO also supported two other bills at today’s Assembly Labor Committee. The first was A4768 (Quijano D-20/ Atkins D-20), which provides that severance requirements under “Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act” are effective immediately. The bill amends the effective date of legislation passed in 2019 to strengthen severance requirements for mass layoffs, which was delayed due to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. The second was A4682 (Schaer D-36/ Timberlake D-34/ Danielsen D-17), which establishes employment protections for certain service employees during changes of ownership. Both bills were favorably released from committee.
We thank Assembly Labor Committee Chairman Joe Egan for posting these bills in committee today, the members of the committee who supported the bills, as well as the bill sponsors for their advocacy on behalf of New Jersey’s working families.
