In the past two weeks, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has signed two bills into law that his predecessor, Republican Chris Christie, had held at bay for years. The Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act cleared the legislature earlier in April and Murphy, who had campaigned on the issue, made good on his promise to sign it by the end of that month – putting his signature to it over a week ago. It will take effect on July 1 of this year. This past week, he made New Jersey the 10th state to guarantee paid sick leave for most employees across the state when he signed A1827 (18R) into law. The Paid Sick Leave Law, which takes effect in six months, mandates that employers grant their workers one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked up to 40 hours annually. In a concession to the business community, the final law provides the only sick leave mandates in the state and preempts local communities from enacting their own sick leave ordinances. The case looks a bit different in New York however, where Albany County officials are entertaining a proposal that would mandate county-wide paid sick leave for all private employers with an employee working at least 80 hours per year within the county limits. The Capital Region Chamber is circulating a petition in opposition to the proposal.
