Last updated on August 25th, 2022 at 01:03 pm
The New Jersey Food Council (NJFC) recently joined five other Trenton-based business associations that filed a complaint to overturn a Trenton ordinance providing for mandatory paid sick leave.
The NJFC joined the New Jersey Business & Industry Association, New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce, New Jersey Restaurant Association, New Jersey Retail Merchants Association and National Federation of Independent Businesses in the complaint.
The ordinance was approved by Trenton voters in last November’s election. The complaint, filed in State Superior Court, seeks a ruling that the ordinance is unenforceable and unconstitutional, as well as requesting an injunction preventing the ordinance from going into effect.
The complaint states that the City of Trenton is acting beyond its statutory powers in requiring employers based there to provide their employees with paid sick time. Further, the complaint 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 groups believe the state already has addressed paid sick leave in three separate ways: the New Jersey Temporary Disability Benefits Act, the New Jersey Family Leave Insurance Law and the New Jersey Family Leave Act.
