During the final voting session of the 2010/2011 Legislative session, labor related bills were acted on by the Governor or sent to his desk for consideration. Below is a summary of the significant actions.

Back to Work NJ Legislation: A-4332 (Oliver)/S-3080 (Greenstein / Gordon / Madden): The bill establishes the “Back to Work NJ” program that allows individuals collecting unemployment benefits to enroll in an employer provided training program for up to six weeks while continuing to collect their unemployment compensation. The bill included three amendments advocated for by the New Jersey State AFL-CIO, however the New Jersey State AFL-CIO still had concerns with the bill because similar programs established in other states have been abused by employers and the actual level of training provided is minimal. The bill was vetoed by Governor Christie yesterday. He cited the cost of the program.

 

Workers’ Compensation: A-3166 (Egan/Evans)/(S-676:Sarlo/Gill): The bill increases workers’ compensation payments for workers with severe injuries to or loss of a hand or foot. The New Jersey State AFL-CIO supported the legislation. The Governor issued a conditional veto yesterday that stripped away all positive aspects of the bill, recommending only a study of the issue. 

 

Work Share: A-3818 (Moriarty / DiMaio) / S-1301 (Madden / Doherty): The bill provides unemployment insurance benefits for “shared work” programs, which allows employers that reduce their employees’ work hours due to economic conditions to avoid layoffs by sharing the remaining work and allowing a full time employee to receive unemployment benefits when the employee’s time is reduced by 10% or more. The New Jersey State AFL-CIO supports the bill. The bill was signed into law yesterday by Governor Christie.

 

Unemployment Extension: S-3186 (Madden / Sarlo / Egan / Singleton): This bill continues unemployment benefits and incurs no costs to New Jersey’s unemployment fund or employers in the State. It extends federal unemployment through February 29, 2012, two months after they were set to expire. The bill is supported by the New Jersey State AFL-CIO and passed both houses unanimously yesterday.

Urban Hope Act: S-3173 (Norcross / Fuentes / Singleton / Wilson / Diegnan / Watson-Coleman / Greenwald): The bill established a pilot program in three cities (Trenton, Newark & Camden) in which private companies are allowed to build & manage up to 12 schools. The Governor has expressed support for the measure, which passed the Senate yesterday by a vote of 35-3 and passed the Assembly 56-17 with one abstention. Supporters have stated the bill would jump start school construction but opponents have concerns regarding the privatization of public education.

 

We thank the affiliated unions that have lobbied on these bills and for legislators that voted in support of the New Jersey State AFL-CIO’s position. If you have questions or require additional information, please contact us at 609-989-8730.