Bill > S1433

Introduced Session

Under New Jersey law, when a law enforcement entity hires a recently trained officer from another law enforcement entity, it is required to compensate the officer's former employer for the costs associated with that officer's hiring and training. The law sets forth two levels of liability. In those cases where the officer has held a permanent appointment for 30 days or less, the new employer is required to reimburse the officer's former employer for all the costs associated with the officer's hiring and training. In those cases where the officer has held a permanent appointment for more than 30 days, but less than two years, the new employer is required to reimburse the officer's former employer for one-half of the costs associated with the officer's hiring and training. While there is no debate over what constitutes the "cost" of hiring and training a law enforcement officer, there are, however, conflicting interpretations concerning the time frames, particularly the treatment of an officer's provisional period of appointment. Under this bill, the starting point for the time frames is the date the officer completed his or her required police training. It also shortens the period for which a new employer is liable for reimbursement payments. In those cases where the officer has been employed for 120 days or less from the date of completing the required police training course, the new employer is required to reimburse the officer's former employer for all the costs associated with the officer's hiring and training. In those cases where the officer has been employed for more than 120 days, but less than two years from the date of completing the police training course, the new employer is required to reimburse the officer's former employer for one-half of the costs associated with the officer's hiring and training.

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Joe Pennacchio (R)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Law and Public Safety Committee (on 02/13/2020)