Corzine signs family leave bill with nod towards state's values Saturday May 03, 2008 • by Susan K. Livio • Star-Ledger Staff Declaring it a "legacy" moment in New Jersey history, Gov. Jon Corzine signed legislation yesterday granting employees up to six weeks off with limited pay to take care of a new child or a sick parent, child or spouse. With the stroke of the governor's pen, New Jersey became the third state in the nation to create a paid family leave program, although benefits will not be available until July 2009. Nearly 200 supporters gathered for the bill-signing ceremony at the Statehouse to revel in the victory that took a dozen years to achieve. Business leaders had stymied the measure, arguing the program would hurt productivity -- especially for companies with fewer than 50 employees -- and would discourage employers from creating new jobs. Corzine addressed the criticisms with a touch of blunt humor. "I may be an old washed-up businessman, but I passionately believe this bill is not anti-business," said Corzine, who was chief executive officer of the investment house Goldman Sachs before he entered political life eight years ago. Reflecting on how the daily presence of his family helped him recover from his near-fatal car accident 13 months ago, Corzine said, "We need to make sure every family has that equal opportunity to take care of each other at a moment of need." He said enactment of the leave bill represented a "commitment to family values" and shows just how the state feels about families. "I mean this from the bottom of my heart -- this is a legacy day as far as I am concerned," Corzine said. The law would allow workers to apply for up to six weeks off to care for a newborn or newly adopted child, or a sick parent, spouse or child. They could collect up to two-thirds of their pay, up to a maximum of $524 a week. "People will not have to choose between a paycheck and their loved ones," said Charlie Wowkanech, president of the New Jersey AFL-CIO, one of the original supporters of the bill. The benefit would be funded by a mandatory payroll tax amounting to 64 cents a day or $33 a year. Employers do not make any financial contributions directly to the program, but that did not dissuade business organizations from trying to defeat bill. Philip Kirschner, president of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, said members sent 50,000 e-mail messages to the governor and legislators asking them to rethink their support. "We are astonished that the Governor and the Legislature would impose a paid leave mandate on businesses that are already struggling to survive a recession," Kirschner said. "The law is likely to extract a steep economic price down the road in the form of lost jobs and a further deterioration of New Jersey's already poor business climate." Republican lawmakers also criticized the measure, arguing no one should be forced to pay a new tax. "In theory, it's a good idea to let workers to take six weeks' paid leave any time they need to care for a sick relative or a newborn child," Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr. said. "However, in practice many workers will not take leave even though they will be required to pay the new tax." Business leaders' criticisms made a dramatic impact on the bill over the years. In the bill sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester) and Assemblyman Nelson Albano (D-Cumberland), the length of time off an employee could receive slipped from the original 12 weeks to 10 weeks, and finally six. The bill allows small business owners to fire an employee if the owners cannot operate without key positions filled. The bill also raised the fines for people who try to game the system face, from $250 to $1,000. Sweeney admitted he "could not have realized the level of opposition" to the bill, but persevered, recalling how he and his wife were able to spend 75 days in the hospital with their daughter when she was born prematurely and disabled 14 years ago. "We did something good for working families today," he said. © 2008 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with permission.