Gov. Christie Guts Family Leave Bill in Conditional Veto

Today Gov. Christie gutted a landmark bill improving New Jersey’s paid family leave program (A-4927), taking out every single important policy change and leaving behind modest mandates to improve the state’s processing of paid leave claims and the public reporting about those claims. And in an ironic twist, the governor removed some of the dollars ($3 million, to be exact) needed to make such improvements in his budget veto a few weeks ago.
The legislation (A-4927) closely followed several key recommendations laid out by New Jersey Policy Perspective in an April report.

Gov. Christie’s gutting of these paid leave improvements is a slap in the face to New Jersey’s working families. New Jersey can – and must – do better for its working caregivers, so we can build a strong workforce and a strong economy.

The governor’s veto message focuses only on the modest costs associated with these fixes, and completely ignores the enormous benefits – both the workers and to businesses.