Quick reminder, you all should be receiving our invitations to the seminar we are hosting with NJDEP. This event is extremely important. Far too often we see members unintentionally break the rules when it is much easier to comply and avoid penalties. It is nearly impossible to have penalties reduced once they have been issued, do not allow yourself to be put in this position! Sign up for this seminar ASAP to secure your seat at the event as it is first come first serve.  
 
You might recall our notification last week about the mandatory paid sick leave legislation (A-1827) that was being heard in the Assembly Labor Committee this past Monday. Here’s the breakdown of this particular bill: this version of paid sick leave that was introduced required every employee to be given one hour of paid leave for every hour worked. Employees would be able to save up to 72 hours per year; they would begin earning it on day one of their employment, but would have to wait at least 100 days to use it. Workers would be able to use the paid leave an hour at a time with no restrictions.
 
Just before the hearing started, the sponsor, Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt (D-Camden) announced that she would be amending the bill to address some of the concerns of NJGCA and the business community. Here are her amendments: The number of hours an employee could store would be capped at 40. Employees would not be able to use the leave for at least 120 days after they start working. Employers can set “blackout” dates. On those days employees cannot use “foreseeable leave” (like a doctor’s appointment), and if they are sick for unforeseeable reasons they must provide documentation. Employers would also be able to set a minimum of leave an employee must use. For example, an employee with an eight hour shift who wants to only use two hours of leave could be required to take the entire day off in order to make it easier for a substitute to take the full shift. The amendments also ban local governments from setting their own paid leave policies, which are often worse for the employer than in this bill. (Several local governments like Jersey City have passed their own laws to require employers to provide paid sick leave)
 
These amendments make the bill better, though we still have serious concerns. Unless the employer has a pre-designated blackout date, the employer is not even allowed to ask for proof of illness unless the employee is missing for three consecutive days. There are also no special protections or exemptions for small employers, as we were hoping for. In New Brunswick, for example, employers with fewer than five employees are exempted completely. Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen), the Senate sponsor, made some public comments suggesting these amendments went too far, and the bill is too favorable to employers. Unfortunately and as expected, the legislation passed the committee on a party line vote, all Democrats voted yes and all Republicans voted no.
 
Thanks to those of you who sent emails through our Voter Voice system to their legislators to voice your concerns. This bill has also been referenced to the Assembly Appropriations Committee and then must be voted on by the entire assembly (all 80 members). Then it will have to go through two committee hearings in the Senate and then be voted on by all 40 Senators. Can this move rapidly? I expect this process to play out over the next few months as the legislature will be focusing more heavily on budget issues.
 
Speaking of budget issues, our new Governor Phil Murphy gave his budget address to the legislature on Tuesday and also as expected, unveiled a list of new tax increases that he wants to implement. The most harmful to NJGCA members with convenience stores is going to be his effort to dramatically increase the taxes on tobacco and vaping products. I won’t give you a breakdown of those taxes right now as we are still investigating the details of how this will affect you. I can’t give you details because there seems to be some confusion around what he laid out in his speech, as opposed to what he noted in his printed budget and brief document. Until I know for sure I won’t report the details to you, but I can safely say these taxes are going up.
 
One increase that will affect everybody will be the sales tax which will be going back to seven percent. I’m not sure this will be as big a deal as it is across the board for all merchants on all products that are taxable. This only brings us back to where we were before Governor Christie lowered the rate when the gas tax was increased. There was no mention of any further increases in the gas tax, or worse, including gasoline in the seven percent sales tax, which as you all know will be a back breaker.
 
Here’s a quick update on the lawsuit you all have been reading about the last few weeks: NJGCA attorney Frank Brennan held a meeting here in our training room on Monday with all of the members involved in this lawsuit. Communications with the Tauler Smith law firm that sent the demand letters threatening a lawsuit have begun and we are now preparing for more communications to resolve this matter. It seems as if more retailers are receiving letters every day and we are learning that this is now happening in New York and other states. One detail that is extremely interesting to me are the number of dealers who have called NJGCA seeking our help in this matter who have either let their membership expire, or have  ignored ever becoming members. This is a good time to remind you all that I will keep my pledge to you to stick by the NJGCA Membership Fairness Doctrine that clearly states that assistance will not be given to ANY LOCATION THAT IS NOT A MEMBER OF NJGCA. Further, the Fairness Doctrine states that previous members cannot simply rejoin in order to gain our assistance. All previous dues must be paid before any assistance is given. This is what is fair to you, the loyal dues paying members who support NJGCA in order to keep us viable and in a position to give the assistance that is required in matters such as this. Having said that, if you know of locations that have received the demand letter and are threatened with this lawsuit, it is in their best interest to contact us immediately and have them speak to Michelle or send her an email at michelle@njgca.org. I’m sure I will be talking about this more in the future.
 
On a final note, I’m sure many of you will remember the badgering I have given in the last few years about properly complying with wage and hour laws. The Department of Labor has had a task force in New Jersey for the past five years, and although I am confident that NJGCA members are making every effort to comply, the task force continues to find employers that do not. Recently, the Department of Labor cited the owner of multiple gas stations with what seems to be egregious violations of improperly paying their employees. This is an example of what we hope to prevent by keeping you informed. You may remember that NJGCA has held several seminars for our members to teach you how to properly pay your employees and comply with the law. If you are reading this and you are still not clear, please call the office to speak with either myself, or Debbie Hill. We will be glad to assist. You can read about the gas station owner who is being penalized for improperly paying his employees here. This owner is actually a former NJGCA member who dropped his membership before NJGCA began sending out warnings and holding seminars with Department of Labor officials to help members comply with the law. As a non-member, he did not receive the weekly Road Warrior emails or the quarterly On The Road Newsletter with the “Ask DOL” column that appears in every issue. Membership in a strong trade association is one of the best investments you can make!
 
That's all for this week,
Sal Risalvato
Executive Director