NFIB along with five other business associations filed suit on March 2 to
overturn the Trenton ordinance providing for mandatory paid sick leave. The ordinance
was approved by Trenton voters in last November’s election. Trenton is
one of eight municipalities in New Jersey with a local paid sick leave
ordinance. The others are Jersey City, Newark, Passaic, East Orange,Paterson, Irvington and Montclair.
NFIB
partnered with the New Jersey Business & Industry Association, New Jersey
State Chamber of Commerce, New Jersey Food Council, New Jersey Restaurant
Association, and the New Jersey Retail Merchants Association to file the
complaint. It was filed in State Superior Court in Mercer County and seeks a
ruling that the ordinance is unenforceable and unconstitutional, as well as
requesting an injunction preventing the ordinance from going into effect on
March 4.
The complaint states that the City of Trenton is acting
beyond its statutory powers in requiring employers based there to provide their
employees with paid sick time. Further, the complaint argues that the city
cannot reach beyond its municipal boundaries to require employers located
outside of Trenton to provide paid sick leave for employees who work at least
80 hours a year in the city as the ordinance allows.
According to the complaint, paid sick time is not a matter of local concern
relevant only to those who live in Trenton, but is rather a matter of general
and statewide significance, particularly since this ordinance clearly impacts
employers that have workforces spanning multiple municipalities.
The state of New Jersey has already addressed paid sick leave in three separate
ways. It is addressed in the New Jersey Temporary Disability Benefits Act, the
New Jersey Family Leave Insurance Law provision of the NJTDBA, and the New
Jersey Family Leave Act. As such, the complaint states that the ordinance is
preempted because the state has occupied the field of paid sick leave through
its current statutes.
CLICK HERE to learn more about NFIB’s fight against paid leave legislation
MEDIA
- NJ.com | Trenton’s paid sick leave law is challenged in lawsuit by N.J. business groups | 3.2.2015
- NorthJersey.com | Biz groups sue to stop Trenton paid sick leave law | 3.2.2015
- Op-ed by NFIB member Keith Krehel | Newjerseynewsroom.com | The Impact of Paid Sick Leave on Small Businesses | 3.12.15
