Modifies laws regarding compensation and leaves of absence for certain public employees who served in the military; requires public employers follow certain policies and procedures for leaves of absence.

A1893

ASSEMBLY, No. 1893

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman CLEOPATRA G. TUCKER

District 28 (Essex and Union)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Rumpf

SYNOPSIS

���� Modifies laws regarding compensation and leaves of
absence for certain public employees who served in the military; requires
public employers follow certain policies and procedures for leaves of absence.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act

concerning compensation, and leaves of absence for certain active and retired
members of the military who are public employees, and amending various sections
of the statutory law and supplementing Title 38 of the Revised Statutes.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� R.S.38:23-1 is amended
to read as follows:

���� 38:23-1.����� a.� A permanent
or full-time temporary officer or employee of the State or of a board,
commission, authority or other instrumentality of the State, or of a county,
school district or municipality, who is a member of the organized reserve of
the Army of the United States, United States Naval Reserve, United States Air
Force Reserve or United States Marine Corps Reserve, or other organization
affiliated therewith, including the National Guard of other states, shall be
entitled, in addition to pay received, if any, as a member of a reserve
component of the Armed Forces of the United States, to leave of absence from
his or her respective duty without loss of pay or time on all work days on
which he or she shall be engaged in any period of Federal active duty,
provided, however, that such leaves of absence shall not exceed 30 work days in
any calendar year.� Such leave of absence shall be in addition to the regular
vacation or other accrued leave allowed such officer or employee.

���� Any leave of absence for such
duty in excess of 30 work days shall be without
[
pay but without
]
loss of time
,
and the officer or employee shall be entitled to pay as provided in an
applicable collective negotiations agreement in effect at the time of the leave
of absence.� If an applicable collective negotiations agreement is not in
effect or does not address this matter or a person is not covered by a
collective negotiations agreement, the officer or employee shall be entitled to
pay as the public employer may, at its sole discretion, provide.�

����
An officer or employee
entitled to a leave of absence also shall be entitled, during the period of the
leave of absence, to payment by the public employer, on behalf of the officer
or employee, of any contribution required of the officer or employee to a
retirement system or program and to a health care benefits plan or program, in
addition to any contribution or payment required of the public employer.

����
The leave of absence to
which an officer or employee is entitled shall include:

����
leave for one travel day to
the active duty location if the officer or employee resides 50 or more miles
from the location of duty and checks in to lodgings at or near the duty
location for the purpose of resting prior to undertaking the military service
obligation; and

����
leave, prior to undertaking
the military service obligation, of five days if the length of service will be
30 to 180 days, and of ten days if the length of service will be 181 days or
more.

����
For the purposes of this
section:

����
�Federal active duty�
means:

����
the performance of duty on
a voluntary or involuntary basis in a uniformed service under competent
authority, including active duty, active duty for training, initial active duty
for training, and inactive duty training;

����
service on a full time
basis in the National Guard;

����
time for medical
appointments and consultations, surgery, counseling for post traumatic stress
disorder, recuperation, rehabilitation, and recovery from an injury sustained
or aggravated as a result of military service; and

����
time for an examination to
determine fitness for performing funeral honors duty as authorized by 10 U.S.C.
s.12503 or 32 U.S.C. s.115
.

���� b.��� Notwithstanding
subsection a. of this section, a full-time temporary officer or employee who
has served under such temporary appointment for less than one year shall
receive for the service hereinabove described leave without pay but without
loss of time.

(cf: P.L.2001, c.351, s.1)

���� 2.��� Section 1 of P.L.1951,
c.18 (C.38:23-4.1) is amended to read as follows:

���� 1.��� As used in the act to
which this act is a supplement, the term "emergency" shall include,
but shall not be limited to, any period of time after June
[
twenty-third,
one thousand nine hundred and fifty
]

23, 1950
, and prior to the termination, suspension or
revocation of the proclamation of the existence of a� national emergency issued
by the President of the United States on December
[
sixteenth, one thousand nine
hundred and fifty
]

16, 1950
, or termination of the existence� of such national emergency by
appropriate action of the President or Congress of the United States
, and
any period of time after September 11, 2001, and prior to the termination or suspension
of the Global War on Terrorism as declared by the President of the United
States
.

(cf: P.L.1951, c.18, s.1)

���� 3.��� N.J.S.38A:4-4 is amended
to read as follows:

���� 38A:4-4.���� a.� A permanent
or full-time temporary officer or employee of the State or of a board,
commission, authority or other instrumentality of the State or of a county,
school district or municipality who is a member of the organized militia shall
be entitled, in addition to pay received, if any, as a member of the organized
militia, to leave of absence from his or her respective duties without loss of
pay or time on all days during which he or she shall be engaged in any period
of State or Federal active duty; provided, however, that the leaves of absence
for Federal active duty or active duty for training shall not exceed 90 work
days in the aggregate in any calendar year.� Any leave of absence for such duty
in excess of 90 work days shall be
[
without
pay but
]

without loss of time
, and the officer or employee shall be entitled to pay
as provided in an applicable collective negotiations agreement in effect at the
time of the leave of absence.� If an applicable collective negotiations
agreement is not in effect or does not address this matter or a person is not
covered by a collective negotiations agreement, the officer or employee shall
be entitled to pay as the public employer may, at its sole discretion, provide
.

����
The leave of absence to
which an officer or employee is entitled shall include leave for one travel day
to the active duty location if the officer or employee resides 50 or more miles
from the location of duty and checks in to lodging at or near the duty location
for the purpose of resting prior to undertaking the military service
obligation.

���� b.��� Leave of absence for
such military duty shall be in addition to the regular vacation or other
accrued leave allowed such officers and employees by the State, county or
municipal law, ordinance, resolution, or regulation.�
If the officer or
employer is not entitled to pay during a leave of absence, the officer or
employee may elect to use accrued vacation or other paid leave during the leave
of absence.� The public employer shall not require that officer or employee to
use vacation or other accrued paid leave during the leave of absence.

���� c.���� Notwithstanding
subsection a. of this section, a full-time temporary officer or employee who
has served under such temporary appointment for less than one year shall
receive for the service hereinabove described leave without pay but without
loss of time.

(cf: P.L.2001, c.351, s.3)

���� 4.��� (New section)� a.� The
State and each political subdivision of the State shall prepare and maintain
written policies and procedures to be followed with regard to leaves of absence
by officers and employees who are members of the Armed Forces of the United States and the reserve components thereof, including the National Guard.� The
policies and procedures shall address all matters regarding leaves of absence
pursuant to R.S.38:23-1, R.S.38:23-4, N.J.S.38A:4-4, and any other statute
regarding leaves of absence, compensation, and benefits of such officers and
employees.� The policies and procedures shall specify, among other matters, documentation
requirements.

���� The policies and procedures
shall be applied in a uniform and fair manner.

���� b.��� Notice of any changes to
the policies and procedures shall be given promptly to all affected officers
and employees and training shall be provided to ensure proper implementation of
the polices and administration of the procedures.

���� c.���� Notwithstanding any
other provision of a law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, upon receipt of
a request for a leave of absence by an officer or employee, the public employer
shall inform an officer or employee in writing, within 90 days after the receipt,
of any issues or matters regarding the leave request.� If the employer does not
notify the officer or employee within this time period, the employer shall be
permanently barred from raising any such issue or matter, or charging the
officer or employee with an administrative violation.

���� d.��� The receipt of required
documentation submitted by an officer or employee shall be acknowledged in
writing by the public employer.

���� e.���� A public employer shall
provide a full accounting to the officer or employee of all matters regarding
pay within a reasonable period of time and in a reasonable manner.

���� f.���� All records for each
officer and employee shall be maintained by the public employer for a period of
not less than 10 years.

���� g.��� No provision of this
section nor any amendatory provision of P.L.���� , c.���� (pending before the
Legislature as this bill) shall alter any duty to negotiate leaves of absences
for such officers or employees as otherwise required by law.

���� h.��� If in any action brought
in a court of law by a public officer or employee a public employer is found to
be in violation of this section or any other statute concerning the employment,
compensation, or leave of absence of an officer or employee who served as a
member of the United States Armed Forces or the National Guard, the court shall
award to the officer or employee reasonable attorney�s fees and other fees and
costs.

���� 5.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill makes various
changes to the laws concerning termination, compensation, and leaves of absence
of certain active and retired members of the United States military, the
reserves, and the National Guard who are public employees.

���� N.J.S.A.38:23-1 requires a
public employer to provide a paid leave of absence for federal active duty to
public employees who are members of the reserves of the United
States military, including the National Guard of other states.� The employer
must provide paid leave for 30 work days per year.� Leave after 30 days is
provided without pay.� Also, N.J.S.A.38A:4-4 requires a public employer to
provide a paid leave of absence for State or federal active duty to public
employees who are members of the New Jersey National Guard.� The employer must
provide paid leave for 90 work days per year.� Leave after 90 days is provided
without pay.� This bill provides that the public employee would be entitled to
pay for the days over 30 or the days over 90, as appropriate, if pay is
provided in an applicable collective negotiations agreement in effect at the
time of the leave of absence.� If an applicable collective negotiations
agreement is not in effect or does not address this matter or a person is not
covered by a collective negotiations agreement, the officer or employee will be
entitled to pay only if the public employer decides to provide it.

���� Also for the purposes of
N.J.S.A.38A:4-4, the bill permits a public employee to use, at the employee�s
sole discretion, accrued paid leave for State and federal active duty as a
member of the New Jersey National Guard and the employer cannot require an employee
to use that time for leave.

���� For the purposes of
N.J.S.A.38:23-1, this bill entitles a public employee, during the leave of
absence, to payment by the public employer, on behalf of the employee, of any
contribution required of the officer or employee to a retirement system or
program and to a health care benefits plan or program, in addition to any
contribution or payment required of the public employer.

���� For the purposes of
N.J.S.A.38:23-1, this bill entitles a public employee to: (1) leave for one
travel day to the active duty location if the officer or employee resides 50 or
more miles from the location of duty and checks in to lodgings at or near the duty
location for the purpose of resting prior to undertaking the military service
obligation; and (2) leave, prior to undertaking the military service
obligation, of five days if the length of service will be 30 to 180 days, and
of ten days if the length of service will be 181 days or more.

���� Also for the purposes of
N.J.S.A.38:23-1, the bill defines �Federal active duty� to mean:

���� the performance of duty on a
voluntary or involuntary basis in a uniformed service under competent
authority, including active duty, active duty for training, initial active duty
for training, and inactive duty training;

���� service on a full time basis
in the National Guard;

���� time for medical appointments
and consultations, surgery, counseling for post traumatic stress disorder,
recuperation, rehabilitation, and recovery from an injury sustained or
aggravated as a result of military service; and

���� time for an examination to
determine fitness for performing funeral honors duty as authorized by federal
law.

���� N.J.S.A.38:23-4.1 defines
�emergency� for the purposes of N.J.S.A.38:23-4, which provides that a public
employee who enters the active military service of the United States or of this
State in time of war or emergency must be granted a leave of absence for that
service and for three months after receiving a discharge from service.� If the
public employee is incapacitated by injury or sickness at the time of
discharge, the leave must be extended until three months after the employee�s
discharge, or until the expiration of two years from the date of discharge.�
N.J.S.A.38:23-4 also provides that during the leave, the employee cannot be
terminated or laid off if entry into the military occurred in time of war or
emergency.� During the period of leave, the employee is entitled to all the
rights, privileges and benefits of the public employment.� The leave may be
granted with or without pay.� The employee is entitled to resume the employment
if he applies before the expiration of the leave.� The bill defines �emergency�
for the purposes of this statute to include any period of time from September
11, 2001 until the termination of the Global War on Terrorism as declared by
the President of the United States.

���� Finally, the bill requires
public employers to prepare and maintain written policies and procedures to be
followed with regard to leaves of absence by officers and employees who are
members of the Armed Forces of the United States and the reserve components
thereof, including the National Guard.� The policies must specify documentation
requirements for leave, and the receipt of required documentation must be
acknowledged in writing by the public employer.� The policies and procedures
must be applied in a uniform and fair manner.� Notice of any changes to the
policies and procedures must be given promptly to all affected officers and
employees and training must be provided to ensure proper implementation and
administration.� Upon receipt of a request for a leave or absence by an officer
or employee, the public employer must inform an officer or employee in writing,
within 90 days after the receipt, of any issues or matters regarding the leave
request.� If the employer does not notify the officer or employee within such
time period, the employer will be permanently barred from raising any such
issue or matter, or charging the officer or employee with an administrative
violation.� A public employer must provide a full accounting to an officer or
employee of all matters regarding pay within a reasonable period of time and in
a reasonable manner.� All records for each officer or employee must be
maintained by the public employer for a period of not less than 10 years.� If
in any action brought in a court of law by an officer or employee, a public
employer is found to be in violation of any statutes concerning the employment,
compensation, or leave of absence of a public officer or employee who served as
a member of the United States Armed Forces or the National Guard, the court
must award to the officer or employee reasonable attorney�s fees and other fees
and costs.�