Bill Text: NJ A4484 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes "New Jersey Paid Prenatal Personal Leave Act."
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-06-06 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Labor Committee [A4484 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A4484-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman MICHAEL VENEZIA
District 34 (Essex)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes "New Jersey Paid Prenatal Personal Leave Act."
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning paid prenatal leave and supplementing Title 34 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in this act:
"Employee" means any individual employed by an employer, whether the employment is full-time or part-time.
"Employer" means any individual, partnership, association, corporation, and the State and any county, municipality, or school district in the State, or any agency, authority, department, bureau, or instrumentality thereof, or any person or group of persons acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an employee.
"Paid prenatal personal leave" means leave that is taken for health care services received by an employee during the employee's pregnancy or related to the employee's pregnancy, including physical examinations, medical procedures, monitoring and testing, and discussions with a health care provider related to the pregnancy.
2. a. All employers in the State shall provide employees with a minimum of 20 hours of paid prenatal personal leave during each calendar year to attend prenatal health care appointments during or related to the employee's pregnancy.
b. An employee may take paid prenatal personal leave in one-hour increments, and an employee taking paid prenatal personal leave shall receive compensation at the employee's regular rate of pay for any paid prenatal personal leave which is taken.
c. An employer shall not be required to pay an employee for unused paid prenatal personal leave at the time of separation from employment.
3. An employer shall not:
a. Require the disclosure of confidential information relating to a mental or physical illness, injury, or condition as a condition of providing paid prenatal personal leave; or
b. Penalize, discriminate against, or retaliate against an employee for taking or requesting paid prenatal personal leave.
4. The Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development shall promulgate rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this act, including, but not limited to, the assessment of penalties against an employer who violates any provisions of this act.
5. This act shall take
effect on January 1, 2026, except that the commissioner shall take any
anticipatory administrative action in
advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill provides every eligible employee in the State with 20 hours of paid prenatal personal leave for each calendar year. The bill defines paid prenatal personal leave to mean leave that is taken for health care services received by an employee during the employee's pregnancy or related to the employee's pregnancy, including physical examinations, medical procedures, monitoring and testing, and discussions with a health care provider related to the pregnancy. The requirement to provide prenatal leave applies to private and public employers in the State, and full-time and part-time employees are eligible for the leave.
Under the bill, employees may take the leave in one-hour increments, and they are entitled to compensation at their regular rate of pay for the leave taken. The bill provides that employers are prohibited from penalizing, discriminating against, or retaliating against employees for taking or requesting the leave. Employers are not required to pay employees for any unused leave at the time of separation from employment.
The bill's provisions will not go into effect until January 1, 2026.
