Bill > S1089

Introduced Session

This bill, the "New Jersey Fair Workweek Act," provides that employees may request a change to their work schedules without fear of retaliation or adverse action, and requires that employers consider these requests in good faith. The bill also requires employers to provide more predictable and stable schedules for employees in certain low-wage occupations. For the purposes of this bill, "employer" is defined as any employer that employees 250 or more employees. The bill requires an employee, upon hire, to provide an employer with a written request of the employee's preferred schedule; and requires the employer to provide a good-faith estimate of the employee's projected schedule. An employee may make requests for a change to the schedule, and the employer is required to work in good faith to accommodate these requests if possible. The bill requires an employer to provide, transmit, and post notice of an employee's schedule at least 14 days prior to the start of the work period that schedule covers. The employer is required to give prior notice to affected employees of any revision of the posted schedule and post the revised schedule within 24 hours. An employee is allowed to decline to work any shifts that are not posted in such a manner. The bill provides for employees to receive predictability pay for any work schedule change that occurs after the abovementioned advanced notice has been provided. Under the provisions of the bill, an employee may decline any shifts scheduled less than twelve hours after the end of the employee's most recent shift. Any shifts worked by the employee within 12 hours of their most recent shift shall be compensated with rest shortfall pay at one-and-a-half times the employee's normal rate. The bill requires an employer to increase the shifts of existing employees, within the limits of the law, before hiring new employees capable of performing the same tasks. The bill provides for an employer to keep records detailing its compliance with these requirements, and for those records to be accessible to the employees concerned. The bill makes it an unlawful employment practice for any employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny the existence or the right to exercise, any right of an employee as set forth in the bill. Under the bill, it is unlawful for any employer to discharge, threaten to discharge, demote, suspend, reduce work hours of, or take any other adverse employment action against any employee in retaliation for exercising the rights of an employee under the bill or opposing any practice made unlawful by the bill. The bill provides that, in respect to employees whose work requires substantially similar skills, duties, and responsibility, an employer shall not discriminate against any employee on the basis of their hours worked. The bill provides, in cases where the employee does not initiate a civil action under current law, for the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development or the Attorney General to bring a civil action against a covered employer in violation or alleged to be in violation of the bill or other State wage and hour laws. Under the bill, an employee or employee representative may, after providing the commission an opportunity to investigate the complaint, bring a civil action on behalf of the State, but the right of the employee to bring a civil action under the bill terminates if the commissioner initiates an enforcement action regarding the complaint. The bill requires an employer to pay an employee nine times the employee's regular wage, or the minimum wage, whichever is larger, in retention pay for every 7-day work period; with an employee's normal pay or paid time-off counting toward compliance with this requirement. The bill requires every employer subject to its provisions to post and keep conspicuously posted, in the establishment and location where notices or postings to employees and applicants for employment are customarily posted, a notice setting forth the pertinent provisions of the bill. The bill does not apply to collective bargaining agreements if the agreement waives specific provisions that are covered within the bill, so long as the agreement addresses the topic of employee scheduling. The bill amends P.L.1965, c.173 (C.34:11-4.10) to add certain penalties for labor violations. The bill amends P.L.2019, c.212 (C.34:11-58.2) to include this bill under prohibited retaliations against employees. The bill amends R.S.34:11-57 and P.L.2009, c.194 (C.34:1A-1.11) to include itself under the definition of "State wage and hour laws," thus allowing for penalties imposed under other state wage and hour laws to apply to violations of this bill. Finally, the bill amends R.S.43:21-5 to prevent absences caused by employer violations of its provisions from affecting employee eligibility for unemployment compensation.

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Britnee Timberlake (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Labor Committee (on 01/09/2024)

Official Document