For many years, CATA has been a strong advocate for paid sick time and paid leave benefits for all workers in New Jersey. This year, we are focused on expanding job protection to workers who need to take paid leave and also on expanding access to paid leave programs to undocumented immigrants who are paying into the program but are denied the benefit.
An updated report released in July by the Rutgers University Center for Women and Work shows that nearly 1.7 million workers in New Jersey are at risk of losing their jobs if they need to take time off to care for a loved one. The report highlighted that 58% of New Jersey workers without job protections are female and that low-wage workers and workers of color are more likely to lack job protections and less likely to take paid leave for fear of losing their jobs.
This report continues to illustrate the injustices of the system when workers who are paying into the NJ Family Leave Insurance program still run the risk of losing their jobs when they need to take time off to bond with new babies or care for loved ones. We know that all workers and all families deserve access to paid leave. As a member of the New Jersey Time to Care Coalition, CATA participated in a social media campaign to share this report and several first-hand stories from workers on why job protection and access to paid leave are so important for all New Jersey workers.
Use this link to contact your legislators and urge them to amend proposed bill A3451/S2950. Ask them to expand job-protected leave for NJ workers at every employer with at least 5 employees after just a minimum of 90 days at that employer.
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