A3728

An Act limiting supplemental compensation payable upon retirement for State, local government and board of education employees and amending and supplementing various parts of the statutory law.

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

1. N.J.S.11A:6-19 is amended to reads as follows:

11A:6-19. Supplemental compensation shall be computed at the rate of one-half of the eligible employee's daily rate of pay for each day of accumulated sick leave based upon the compensation received during the last year of employment prior to the effective date of retirement, but supplemental compensation shall not exceed [$15,000.00] $10,000. If an employee dies after the effective date of retirement but before payment is made, payment shall be made to the employee's estate.

(cf: N.J.S.11A:6-19)

2. (New section) Notwithstanding any law or any rule or regulation to the contrary, an independent State authority shall not pay supplemental compensation to any officer or employee for accumulated unused sick leave in an amount in excess of $10,000. Supplemental compensation shall be payable only at the time of retirement based on the leave credited on the date of retirement.

3. (New section) Notwithstanding any law or any rule or regulation to the contrary, a political subdivision of the State, or an agency, authority or instrumentality thereof, that has adopted the provisions of Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes, shall not pay supplemental compensation to any officer or employee for accumulated unused sick leave in an amount in excess of $10,000. Supplemental compensation shall be payable only at the time of retirement from a State-administered or locally-administered retirement system based on the leave credited on the date of retirement.

4. (New section) Notwithstanding any law or any rule or regulation to the contrary, a political subdivision of the State, or an agency, authority or instrumentality thereof, that has not adopted the provisions of Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes, shall not pay supplemental compensation to any officer or employee for accumulated unused sick leave in an amount in excess of $10,000. Supplemental compensation shall be payable only at the time of retirement from a State-administered or locally-administered retirement system based on the leave credited on the date of retirement.

5. (New section) Notwithstanding any law or any rule or regulation to the contrary, a board of education, or an agency or instrumentality thereof, shall not pay supplemental compensation to any officer or employee for accumulated unused sick leave in an amount in excess of $10,000. Supplemental compensation shall be payable only at the time of retirement from a State-administered or locally-administered retirement system based on the leave credited on the date of retirement.

6. Nothing contained in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be construed as affecting the provisions of any collective bargaining agreement or individual contract of employment in effect on that act’s effective date.

7. This act shall take effect on the 30th day after the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

At present, the law limits to $15,000 the maximum amount that may be paid to a State employee for accumulated sick leave when the employee retires. However, there are currently no such limits with regard to local government and school board officers or employees. This bill would provide that supplemental compensation for accumulated sick leave payable to any State, independent State authority, local government or school district officer or employee upon retirement could not exceed $10,000. The bill also provides that supplemental compensation would be payable only upon retirement based on the leave credited on the date of retirement. The bill’s provisions are based upon testimony and other information received by the sponsor in his capacity as a member of the Joint Legislative Committee on Public Employee Benefits Reform.