Bill Text: NJ A4330 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Permits State employment on temporary basis of workers with certain skills to perform routine maintenance in State facilities.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-06-20 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee [A4330 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-A4330-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman WAYNE P. DEANGELO
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Permits State employment on temporary basis of workers with certain skills to perform routine maintenance in State facilities.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the temporary employment by the State of workers with certain skills and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law or regulation to the contrary, whenever a State agency deems it necessary to undertake routine maintenance work as defined in this section in a building or facility for which the agency has responsibility for the work, the agency, in its discretion, may appoint on a temporary basis a worker who, in the agency's judgment, may be necessary to perform that routine maintenance work in that building or facility, when the work is not required to be performed under a contract or agreement awarded after being publicly advertised and publicly bid.
This authority to appoint a worker shall be used by a State agency only to appoint a worker who is a skilled craftsman from an area building trade and who has completed an apprenticeship program, when the performance of that routine maintenance work requires such a skilled craftsman. This authority to appoint a worker shall be used by a State agency to make an appointment only for the performance of specified work during a specified period of time. The appointed worker shall be terminated upon completion of the specified work.
The State agency appointing the worker shall determine the qualifications, duties, and compensation of the worker, and shall appoint and remove the worker, all without regard to the provisions of Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes. The appointed worker shall not be subject in any manner to the provisions of Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes.
The State agency shall require the appointed worker to sign an employment agreement setting forth the terms and conditions of employment, specifying the work to be performed and the period of time for the performance, the compensation to be paid, and any other matters deemed by the State agency to be relevant and appropriate for such an agreement.
The appointed worker shall receive payment for services on a per diem basis, or such other basis as the State agency deems to be appropriate, which shall include commensurate payments toward any retirement, health care, or other benefit plan or program from which the worker is eligible to receive benefits as a result of the worker's membership in a labor organization if the worker is such a member.
During the period of the appointment, the worker shall be deemed an employee of the State agency making the appointment, but shall not be eligible for enrollment in a retirement system or program, health care benefits plan or program, or any other benefit plan or program available to State employees, including but not limited to a program or plan for disability or workers' compensation, unless eligibility or enrollment is required by federal law or regulation. The worker shall be indemnified and provided any defense of any action in the same manner and to the same extent as employees of the State under the "New Jersey Tort Claims Act," N.J.S.59:1-1 et seq., on account of acts or omissions in the scope of the worker's authority.
The maintenance work shall be performed by the worker under the direct supervision of the State agency that appointed the worker and the agency shall be responsible for ensuring that the work is properly completed by the appointed worker. A State agency may delegate this supervisory authority to another State agency.
As used in this section:
"Apprenticeship program" means a registered apprenticeship program providing to each trainee combined classroom and on-the-job training under the direct and close supervision of a highly skilled worker in an occupation recognized as an apprenticeable trade, registered by the Office of Apprenticeship of the United States Department of Labor, and meeting the standards established by the office.
"Maintenance work" means the repair of an existing facility when the size, type, or extent of such a facility is not thereby changed or increased, or any work on a maintenance-related project that exceeds the scope of work and capabilities of then-employed maintenance personnel.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill will permit a State agency, in its discretion, to appoint on a temporary basis a worker who, in the agency's judgment, may be needed to perform routine maintenance work in a State building or facility when the work is not required to be performed under a contract or agreement awarded after being publicly advertised and publicly bid. "Maintenance work" is defined in the bill to mean the repair of an existing facility when the size, type, or extent of such a facility is not thereby changed or increased, or any work on a maintenance-related project that exceeds the scope of work and capabilities of then-employed maintenance personnel.
This authority to appoint can only be used by a State agency to appoint a worker who is a skilled craftsman from an area building trade and who has completed an apprenticeship program, when the performance of that routine maintenance work requires such a skilled craftsman. The appointment can only be used for the performance of specified work during a specified period of time. The appointed worker will be terminated upon completion of the specified work.
The appointed worker must sign an employment agreement, and the maintenance work will be performed by the worker under the direct supervision of the State agency.
The State agency will determine the qualifications, duties, and compensation of the worker, and appoint and remove the worker, all without regard to the provisions of Title 11A (Civil Service) of the New Jersey Statutes. The appointed worker will not be subject in any manner to the provisions of the civil service laws and regulations.
The appointed worker will receive payment for services on a per diem basis, which would include commensurate payments toward any retirement, health care, or other benefits plan or program available to the worker as a result of the worker's membership in a union.
During the period of the appointment, the worker will be considered an employee of the State agency, but will not be eligible for enrollment in a retirement system or program, health care benefits plan or program, or any other benefit plan or program available to State employees, including but not limited to a plan or program for disability or workers' compensation, unless eligibility or enrollment is required by federal law or regulation. The worker will be indemnified and provided any defense of any action provided for in the same manner and to the same extent as employees of the State under the "New Jersey Tort Claims Act," on account of acts or omissions in the scope of the worker's authority.
