Bill > S4562

Introduced Session

Under current law, officers and employees of a board of education, or an agency or instrumentality thereof, a political subdivision of the State, or an agency, authority or instrumentality thereof, or of an independent State authority, or public institution of higher education eligible for payment for unused sick leave, may receive a maximum payment of $15,000 as supplemental compensation for accumulated unused sick. The amount is payable only at the time of retirement from a State-administered or locally-administered retirement system based on the leave credited on the date of retirement. This bill allows a political subdivision of the State, or an agency, authority, or instrumentality thereof, regardless of whether or not it has adopted the provisions of Title 11A Civil Service of the New Jersey Statutes, may pay to an officer or employee the accumulated unused sick leave earned by that officer or employee on an annual basis, beyond the $15,000 permitted at retirement by current law. The payment of sick leave will be at the sole discretion of the political subdivision, or an agency, authority, or instrumentality thereof, as appropriate, and it will not be subject to collective negotiation agreements or individual contracts. If a political subdivision, or an agency, authority, or instrumentality thereof, as appropriate, decides to pay unused sick leave, the bill specifies that: the number of sick leave hours eligible for payment cannot exceed the equivalent of three weeks sick leave; the number of sick leave hours eligible for payment cannot cause the employee to have less than 100 working days of sick leave per year; and the payment of supplemental compensation cannot occur more than once per calendar year. Under current law, the supplemental compensation is computed at the rate of one-half of the eligible employee's daily rate of pay for each day of accumulated sick leave based upon the compensation received during the last year of employment. Under the bill, the supplemental compensation for accumulated unused sick leave after the effective date of the bill, or after the expiration of a collective negotiations agreement or individual contract of employment in effect on that date, will be computed at a rate not to exceed 60 percent of the eligible officer's or employee's daily rate of pay for each day of accumulated sick leave based upon the salary or wage received during the year the leave was earned. An officer or employee who uses sick leave that is earned after that effective date or expiration date may be required to use their leave in a certain order based on when the leave was earned, and such a requirement will not be subject to collective negotiations agreements or individual contracts. Under current law, a political subdivision, or an agency, authority, or instrumentality thereof, as appropriate, may, when necessary, request a special emergency appropriation to provide funds for supplemental compensation of unused sick leave. Under the bill, at no time may the political subdivision, or an agency, authority, or instrumentality thereof, as appropriate, authorize or accept a special emergency appropriation to provide funds to buyback unused earned sick leave. This bill does not apply to local boards of education.

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Brian Stack (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee (on 06/02/2025)

Official Document