Bill Text: NJ A1370 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Permits retention of vacation leave benefits by State-employed service members on federal active duty and military spouses upon return to State employment within two years of resignation in good standing.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-14 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee [A1370 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-A1370-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
219th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2020 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman DANIEL R. BENSON
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Assemblyman ANTHONY S. VERRELLI
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Assemblyman RAJ MUKHERJI
District 33 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Permits retention of vacation leave benefits by State-employed service members on federal active duty and military spouses upon return to State employment within two years of resignation in good standing.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act permitting certain service members and military spouses employed with the State to retain vacation leave benefits under certain reemployment circumstances, and supplementing Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Notwithstanding any law or regulation to the contrary, a full-time State employee in the career, senior executive, or unclassified service who resigns in good standing from State employment for the purposes of deployment on federal active duty with the United States Armed Forces, or to accompany the employee's spouse who was a member of the United States Armed Forces and who was assigned to military duties outside of New Jersey, shall be entitled, upon returning to State employment, to receive credit for service prior to the resignation for the purpose of determining annual vacation leave benefits.
This section shall only apply to persons who return to State employment within two years from the date of their resignation in good standing.
b. The Adjutant General of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs shall be responsible for determining whether any person meets the criteria for deployment for the purposes of federal active duty, or for being a member of the military for the purposes of the member's spouse receiving the benefits under subsection a. of this section, and shall be responsible for adjudicating an appeal from any person disputing this determination. The determination of the Adjutant General shall be binding.
The Adjutant General of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs shall be responsible for determining acceptable proof of military duties requiring a service member to be deployed and move outside of New Jersey.
c. The appropriate appointing authority shall determine acceptable proof of marital status, which may include a copy of a marriage license, or a copy of the tax returns from the most recent taxable year reflecting the status of a married couple filing jointly or a married person filing separately.
d. Any person deemed ineligible under this act shall forfeit the vacation leave benefits that the person received under subsection a. of this section, and shall be liable for any other penalties or discipline that may be imposed by the employee's appointing authority, and approved by the commission.
2. This act shall take
effect immediately and shall be retroactive to June 1, 2015.
STATEMENT
Under current law, when a permanent employee who has resigned in good standing from State employment, is later reemployed by the State, that employee is treated as a new employee for the purpose of determining annual accumulation of the vacation leave benefits.
Under the bill, a State employee who leaves State employment because of deployment on federal military active duty, or to accompany the employee's spouse assigned to military duties outside of New Jersey, will be entitled, upon reemployment by the State, to receive the annual vacation leave benefits based on total service credit, including service prior to the resignation in good standing. This will only apply to persons who return to State employment within two years from the date of resignation in good standing.
This bill will be retroactive to June 1, 2015.
