Six NJ Business Associations Reach Agreement with City of Trenton

TRENTON — The New Jersey Business & Industry Association, New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce, New Jersey Food Council, New Jersey Retail Merchants Association, New Jersey Restaurant Association and the National Federation of Independent Businesses today reached an agreement with the City of Trenton that would place on hold the enforcement of the city’s mandatory paid sick leave ordinance pending a court hearing on April 9.
Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson today signed the order codifying the agreement.
“We are pleased that Trenton has agreed to delay enforcement of its paid sick leave ordinance,” said the associations’ attorney Chris Gibson of the law firm Archer & Greiner. “We believe Trenton is exceeding its statutory authority by requiring employers to provide their employees with paid sick time.
“The ordinance is unenforceable and unconstitutional and Trenton has yet to promulgate rules, much less inform the businesses impacted by the ordinance what they need to do to comply.”
The associations’ complaint also argues that the city cannot reach beyond its municipal boundaries to require employers located outside of Trenton to provide paid sick leave for employees who work at least 80 hours a year in the city as the ordinance allows.
The associations believe Trenton’s ordinance is vague, ambiguous, and contrary to New Jersey law and impossible to interpret, administer or implement. According to the complaint, paid sick time is not a matter of local concern relevant only to those who live in Trenton, but is rather a matter of general and statewide significance, particularly since this ordinance clearly impacts employers that have workforces spanning multiple municipalities.