This bill requires school bus drivers, aides, and other personnel transporting students with disabilities to complete specialized training. The training covers behavior management, communication, adaptive equipment use, recognizing life-threatening emergencies (as defined in the bill), and safety procedures. Employers (school districts or contractors) must provide this training annually and require staff to certify completion within five business days. The bill does not mandate 911 calls or specific bus safety features, but focuses on personnel preparedness through training and certification. It is pending before the Assembly Education Committee.
This bill (A 1166) requires the New Jersey State Police Superintendent to create a recovery leave policy for troopers who provide proof of pregnancy. It mandates at least eight weeks of continuous paid leave after childbirth, with full pay and benefits (not counted as sick leave or deducted from sick leave balances), and prohibits residency restrictions or integrity checks during this period. The policy must be posted on the State Police intranet, including required forms, FAQs, and contact information for inquiries. The bill was enacted into law (P.L.2025, c.259) and took effect immediately upon passage.
This bill requires New Jersey to create a public online registry listing out-of-state contractors awarded public construction contracts that require prevailing wages. It directly affects contractors whose main business is outside New Jersey, excluding satellite offices or temporary locations. The registry, maintained by the State Treasurer, will include project details, contractor trade names, and business addresses, and must be accessible on the Treasury Department’s website. The law takes effect immediately upon enactment.
This bill prevents new employees of school board and county college insurance groups from joining New Jersey's state retirement system (PERS). It also ends retirement coverage for current employees in these groups with fewer than 10 years of service credit. Employees with 10 or more years may keep their retirement coverage if they continue working without interruption. The bill repeals prior laws that allowed certain employees on leave to purchase additional pension credit.
The New Jersey Battlefield to Boardroom Act provides tax credits to New Jersey businesses that hire veterans meeting specific criteria. Businesses can claim a credit equal to 10% of qualified wages paid to veterans (capped at $1,200 per veteran annually) for wages earned between 2026 and 2029. To qualify, businesses must hire at least 25% veterans as new employees, maintain 50% of veterans hired the previous year, and provide veteran support services and recruitment efforts. The credit cannot exceed 50% of the business tax liability and is void if wages are claimed for other state benefits.
This bill requires New Jersey state agencies to automatically enroll full-time employees with qualifying federal student loans into the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. It mandates agencies to identify eligible employees using a state-federal database match (via the Department of Education) and update enrollment when employees transfer between agencies. Qualified employees must meet federal PSLF criteria, including working full-time for a qualifying employer (like state agencies) while making qualifying loan payments. The law takes effect immediately, ensuring state employees can access federal loan forgiveness without additional application steps.
This bill expands paid leave for New Jersey public employees who serve in military reserves or National Guard. Currently, state/local government workers in federal reserve units get up to 30 paid work days per year for active duty training, while National Guard members get up to 90 days for active duty. The bill adds required inactive duty training (like routine drills) to these qualifying activities under the same annual limits. Public employers, including school districts, will be reimbursed by the state for any increased costs from this change.
This bill amends New Jersey's Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) rules to allow temporary state employees at psychiatric hospitals or correctional facilities to qualify for accidental disability benefits. It specifically covers injuries sustained after January 2003 while working temporarily at these facilities (before becoming a PERS member), making such injuries eligible for PERS benefits once the employee gains membership. The key change deems these pre-membership injuries as occurring "during membership" if the employee joins PERS without interruption in the same job. This expands eligibility beyond current rules, which only provided workers' compensation for such injuries before PERS membership.
This bill restricts public employees in New Jersey from using six or more consecutive days of accumulated sick leave in the twelve months before retirement without documented medical necessity. It applies to state employees, local government workers, and school employees, requiring them to provide written medical verification for such leave use. Employers must establish procedures for verifying medical necessity, including the option of a medical exam by a doctor chosen by the employer. Violations can result in fines (three times the daily pay per day of violation) or, for a second violation, the deduction of improperly used sick leave from retirement benefits.
This bill caps the retirement payout for unused sick leave at $10,000 (down from $15,000) for public employees in New Jersey, including those working for political subdivisions, agencies, authorities, and school boards. It applies only to employees who began service after a 2010 law took effect, not affecting existing collective bargaining agreements. The bill also requires unused vacation leave to be taken in the following year, unless related to a state emergency declared by the governor. These changes modify how public employees receive compensation for accrued leave upon retirement.
