THE NEW JERSEY legislature has passed legislation that will place new requirements regarding employees when a hotel changes hands. Hospitality and business associations are objecting to the law, saying it will hinder hotels’ recovering in the state.
Assembly Bill 6246 will, among other things, require new owners of a hotel to keep all employees on staff for at least 90 days after the purchase without reducing their wages or benefits.
The bills also would require the previous owners to provide a list of all employees’ names, addresses, hiring dates, phone numbers, wage rates and employment classifications at least 30 days before the change in control, according to the legislation. It also sets terms for how the new owners can reduce staff if necessary during the retention period as well as how violations of the law should be addressed.
The proposed law is well intended, but flawed, Ray Cantor, vice president of government affairs for the New Jersey Business & Industry Association told Center Square newspaper.
“While it is admirable to want to protect every employee when a business changes ownership, collective bargaining and the WARN Act already provides such protections,” Cantor said. “This bill, however, changes the rules of the game and forces a new hotel owner to accept the employees and wage and benefit terms negotiated by the former owner. Such a legislative mandate can have serious consequences for a hospitality industry that is still struggling with the impacts...
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