Local Legislator Pushes For Paid Sick Leave In New Jersey
By David Madden
CHERRY HILL, N.J. (CBS) -- There's a push in the Garden State to require employers to provide paid sick leave to workers. But one of the idea's top proponents doesn't want to rush the bill through the state legislature.
Cherry Hill Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt introduced the plan back in May. It would mandate as many as seven days sick leave per year, depending on hours worked and the size of the business. She insists in many cases workers are forced by economics to neglect themselves or loved ones.
"They're jeopardizing their health and the health of those they interact with, be it their co workers or be it the customers," Lampitt says, "because they're choosing to go to work as opposed to staying home."
The bill is currently in committee, where it faces staunch opposition from the business lobby. Lampitt says this is too important to just ram something through.
"It's not something to swiftly move through the system," she says. "It's something that needs attention and needs support on a bi-partisan basis."
And that support is not there right now.
With this being an election year, Lampitt is suggesting the bill might be re-introduced next year, if the current one fails to move.
