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ORDINANCE AMENDING THE REVISED GENERAL ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, 2000, AS AMENDED AND SUPPLEMENTED, TO ESTABLISH A BETTER JOBS ORDINANCE.
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WHEREAS, a December 2014 report released by the New Jersey Poverty Research Institute found that the income gap between the top twenty percent of New Jersey households and all other income groups has widened since the end of the recession;and
WHEREAS, in 2013, both the average and median income for all households (adjusted for inflation) were lower than in 2009-and lower than they were in 2000;and
WHEREAS, Essex County is the poorest county in the State of New Jersey, with 20% of its residents living below the federal poverty line. In the City of Newark, the poverty rate is over 30%; and
WHEREAS, according to the Economic Policy Institute’s family budget calculator, which calculates “the income a family needs in order to attain a secure yet modest living standard,” for a two-parent, two-child family in the Newark metropolitan statistical area, both parents working full time would have to earn no less than $19.67 an hour each. If either of them is working less than full-time, that hourly rate would have to be even higher to meet that standard; and
WHEREAS, part time workers with limited income and no access to employer-provided healthcare will have to rely on the State to meet basic needs - such as healthcare for themselves and their families; and
WHEREAS, cleaning work can be staffed full time. In fact, the work in major markets such as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago is overwhelmingly full time. Full time office cleaning is also the norm in smaller nearby markets such as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh; and
WHEREAS, the turnover rate for part time building service workers in New Jersey is considerably higher than the turnover rate for full time workers and a 2012 study found that “thirty case studies taken from the 11 most-relevant research papers on the costs of employee turnover demonstrate that it costs businesses about one-fifth of a worker’s salary to replace that worker.”
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, THAT:
Section 1. The Revised General Ordinances of the City of Newark, New Jersey, 2000, are hereby amended to include the following new Ordinance, entitled, Better Jobs Ordinance.
Definitions
1. “Covered Location” shall mean a covered office, college, university or museum location of one hundred thousand (100,000) square feet or more or a residential building or complex with more than 50 units in the City of Newark.
a. "Covered Office Location" shall mean an (1) office building; or (2) a continuous, commonly owned office park; or (3) a group of office buildings that have common ownership and management, and are contiguous or have consecutive addresses.
2. “Department” shall mean the Department designated by the Mayor.
3. “Janitorial or building maintenance services” includes work performed by a janitor, building cleaner, porter, door person, building superintendent, or handy person.
4. “Security Or Concierge Services” includes work performed by an armed or unarmed security guard or a concierge.
5. “Covered Employee” shall mean:
a. Any employee performing janitorial or building maintenance services in or around a covered location in the City of Newark;
b. Any employee providing security or concierge services in or around a covered location in the City of Newark from 12:01 am Monday through 11:59 pm Friday of any week, except as provided in Subsection (5).
6. “Covered Leave” shall mean unpaid temporary leave voluntarily taken by a covered employee pursuant to applicable federal, state or local law; written company policy; or by written request initiated by the covered employee.
7. “Covered Employee” shall not include any employee providing security or concierge services only on Saturday and/or Sunday, nor shall it include any employee providing security or concierge services from 12:01 am Monday through 11:59 pm Friday in order to temporarily replace a covered employee for a period of less than one work week.
8. “Covered Employer” shall mean any individual, partnership, association, corporation, business trust, or any person or group of persons that (a) directly employs; (b) contracts or subcontracts for the services of a covered employee; (c) leases any portion of a covered location and (i) directly employs at least one covered employee or (ii) contracts or subcontracts for the services of at least one covered employee; or (d) owns or controls a covered location.
9. “Work Week” shall mean a fixed regularly recurring period of one hundred sixty-eight (168) hours or seven (7) consecutive twenty-four (24) hour periods.
10. “Minimum Work Week” shall mean the minimum number of compensated hours provided to a covered employee in any work week, except for weeks in which the covered employee is taking covered leave.
Purpose
The following are the intended purposes of this Ordinance:
1. To ensure that building service employees have access to sufficient hours of work to support themselves and their families;
2. To ensure building service jobs are not unnecessarily broken into part time jobs, limiting their access to the benefits associated with full-time jobs - including healthcare;
3. To promote the economic security and stability of workers and their families;
4. To safeguard the public welfare, health, safety and prosperity of the people of the City of Newark; and
5. To accomplish the purposes described in paragraphs in a manner that is feasible for employers.
Minimum Work Week for Building Service Employees
The minimum work week for any Covered Employee shall be thirty (30) hours.
Posting requirement
A. All Covered Employers shall give individual written notice to each covered employee at the commencement of the employee's employment (or as soon as practicable if the employee is already employed on the effective date of this law) regarding employee's rights under this ordinance. Such notice shall describe the right to a minimum work week of thirty (30) hours; the right to be free from retaliation for enforcing or seeking to enforce any right under this ordinance; and the right to file a complaint or bring a civil action if the covered employee is employed for a work week of less than thirty (30) hours or is retaliated against for enforcing or seeking to enforce any right under this ordinance. Such notice shall be in English and the primary language spoken by that employee provided that the Department has made available a translation of such notice into such language.
B. Covered Employers shall also display a poster in a conspicuous and accessible place in each establishment where employees are employed containing notice of this ordinance. The poster shall be in English and in any language that is the first language of at least ten percent (10%) of the covered employer's workforce provided that the Department has made available a translation of such notice into such language.
C. The Department shall create and make available to Covered Employers individual notices and posters. Notices and posters shall be provided in English, Spanish, and any other languages selected by the Agency.
D. A Covered Employer who violates the notice and posting requirements of this Section is subject to a civil fine in an amount not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100.00) for each employee who was not given appropriate notice pursuant to this Section and Five Hundred Dollars and Zero Cents ($500.00) for each establishment in which a poster was not displayed.
Implementation and Enforcement
A. The Department shall coordinate implementation and enforcement of this Ordinance and shall promulgate appropriate guidelines or regulations for such purposes.
B. The Department shall coordinate implementation and enforcement of this Ordinance, including, but not limited to:
a. establishing a system to receive complaints, in writing and by telephone, in English, Spanish, and any other language deemed appropriate by the Department regarding covered employers’ non-compliance with this ordinance;
b. investigating and resolving complaints received by the Department in a timely manner and keep complainants notified regarding the status of the investigation;
c. engaging in pro-active enforcement of this Ordinance through the use of audits, on-site investigations, or other measures to ensure covered employer's compliance. Investigators from the Department shall be empowered to interview employees and former employees in private outside the presence of the employer, and the power to determine whether or not employers have complied with this Ordinance. The Department shall also have the power to inform Covered Employees of their rights under this ordinance.
C. The Department shall maintain as confidential the identity of any complaining person unless disclosure of the identity is necessary for resolution of the investigation. The Department shall, to the extent practicable, notify a complaining person that the Department will not be disclosing his or her identity prior to such a disclosure.
D. The Department shall establish a system for reviewing and adjudicating complaints and shall be empowered to order any remedy necessary within the City’s authority to effectuate the goals of this Ordinance, including but not limited to:
a. reinstatement; and
b. the payment of wages lost and an additional equal amount as liquidated damages.
However, in no event, shall the total amount ordered exceed $2,000.00 per day per violation of this Ordinance.
E. Any person claiming to be aggrieved by the violation of this Ordinance may bring a cause of action in any court of competent jurisdiction. Submitting a complaint to the Department is neither a prerequisite nor a bar to bringing private action. Such court shall be empowered to award a prevailing plaintiff any remedy necessary within the City’s authority to effectuate the goals of this Ordinance, including but not limited to:
a. reinstatement;
b. the payment of wages lost and an additional equal amount as liquidated damages; and
c. attorneys fees and costs.
However, in no event, shall the total amount ordered exceed $2,000.00 per day per violation of this Ordinance.
Retaliation Prohibited
A. No person shall interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this ordinance.
B. No person shall retaliate against an employee because the employee has exercised rights protected under this Ordinance.
C. The rights protected under this ordinance include but are not limited to the right to a minimum workweek as provided under this Ordinance; the right to file a complaint or inform any person about any employer's alleged violation of this Ordinance; the right to cooperate with the Department in its investigations of alleged violations of this Ordinance; the right to participate in any administrative or judicial action regarding an alleged violation of this Ordinance; and the right to inform any person of his or her potential rights under this Ordinance.
D. Protections of this section apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this Ordinance.
E. There is a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation under this section whenever an employer takes adverse action against a person within ninety (90) days of when that person:
a. Files a complaint with the Department or a court alleging a violation of any provision of this Ordinance;
b. Informs any person about an employer's alleged violation of this Ordinance;
c. Cooperates with the Department or other persons in the investigation or prosecution of any alleged violation of this Ordinance;
d. Opposes any policy, practice, or Ordinance that is unlawful under this Ordinance; or
e. Informs any person of his or her potential rights under this Ordinance.
Section 2. Severability
If any provision of this Ordinance is determined to be invalid or incapable of being enforced, such provision shall be excluded to the extent of such invalidity or unenforceability; all other provisions of the ordinance shall remain in full force and effect.
Section 3. Effective Date
This Ordinance shall take effect upon final passage and publication of 180 days from the date of publication.
STATEMENT
This Ordinance amending and supplementing the Revised General Ordinances of the City of Newark, New Jersey, 2000, to adopt a Better Jobs Ordinance.