Bill also prohibits future hires from taking 'terminal leave,' where workers collect a paycheck instead of vacation days at end of career
View from above the Senate Chamber dais in this January 2010 file photo.TRENTON — A Senate committee today unanimously moved forward a bill that would restrict the amount of sick and vacation time current public workers are allowed to accumulate, setting caps and freezing accruals for employees already over the limits.
The bill (S2220), which must be passed by the full Legislature and signed by the governor, would allow workers to save up to $15,000 worth of unused sick time and freeze savings of employees who are already beyond that point.
Unions say workers are asked not to take the sick days so municipalities and schools do not have to hire substitutes or pay overtime for other replacement workers. But municipalities, years later, can get socked with a big bill of, in some cases, hundreds of thousands of dollars once the worker retires.
Unless they are already over the limit, employees would not be allowed to carry over more than a year's worth of vacation.
Employees sometimes take all that vacation time at once at the end of their careers, leaving the job but collecting a paycheck in a practice known as “terminal leave.” The bill prohibits future hires from taking that final vacation.
Some towns recently have had to borrow money to make those payments to workers, who are retiring this year in much greater numbers in the face of changes to pensions and benefits.
Related coverage:
• N.J. bill places cap, restrictions on retirement payouts for current public employees
• Concern over future sparks spike in retirement of N.J. workers