NJ Expands Sick Leave Law and Introduces Christopher’s Law

In 2013, the Jersey City Council made the city the first in the state to require private business owners to provide their employees with paid sick leave. On Wednesday, October 28th, the council expanded that requirement to include businesses with under 10 workers.

Sick Leave Expanded in NJ

Almost everyone working in Jersey City will now be able to accrue paid sick leave, after the council voted 7-1-1 to pass the new measure (Ord. 15.145). Council President Rolando Lavarro hopes that paid sick days will be “a life preserver for folks,” calling the extra days a “small price to pay.”

While Lavarro went on to say that a statewide sick time mandate would be “the real victory,” Michael Yun, who voted against the bill, strongly disagreed. Yun, who until recently ran a Central Avenue store, claims council members who voted for the bill don’t know what it’s like to run a business. “It’s not friendly for the small business community,” he said.

The changes made will require employers with fewer than 10 workers to provide their employees with up to 24 hours of paid sick time and up to 16 hours of unpaid sick time annually. Under previous legislation, these businesses were only required to provide unpaid sick time.

Christopher’s Law

A newly proposed bill in NJ looks to tighten up warning requirements for pontoon rental businesses. After a 10-year-old boy was tragically killed in a pontoon boating accident in June, attention was brought to the lack of warning signs regarding the dangerous rotating propellors on pontoon boats. A law introduced this week intends to both prevent future tragedies and honor the memory of Christopher D’Amico Jr.

Christopher D’Amico Sr. was driving a rental pontoon boat on Lake Hopatcong with his son and a juvenile relative when Christopher D’Amico Jr. fell into the water and was struck by the boat. After suffering a head injury, the 10-year-old boy was air-lifted to Morristown Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Sen. Anthony Bucco (R-Morris) presented “Christopher’s Law,” which requires pontoon rental business owners to warn their customers about the dangers of operating this water vessel. Under this bill, business owners would need to post warning signs at entrances and ensure renters had completed instructions before setting sail.

In a statement by Bucco, the senator explained that his bill would update existing laws by requiring pontoon rental businesses to post large metallic signs reading, “Warning: Rotating propellors can cause serious injury or death.” The sign would also depict an image of a person endangered by a propeller.

Since under current law, pontoon renters are not required to obtain a boating license, Bucco said the new bill places emphasis on providing renters with life-saving instructions before allowing them to set sail.

“The D’Amico family,” Bucco added, “has already taken courageous steps to honor Christopher’s memory. Eight young lives were saved after his family chose to donate his organs to children in need.”