New Jersey employers were told on Aug. 13 – just hours before the start of the weekend – that they’ll have to pay more than $250 million to replenish the state’s unemployment trust fund after it was depleted during the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing record-high unemployment. Now, two South Jersey Democratic state senators are backing a mostly Republican-led effort to use federal funds from the Biden administration to the tax hike on employers.
Sen. Troy Singleton, D-7th District, and Sen. Dawn Addiego, D-8th Distric, both say funds from the American Rescue Plan should go toward staving off the tax increases that would otherwise be put on employers.
Businesses will have to begin paying a higher payroll tax rate, according to the state’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development to make up for the funds, effective Oct. 1–the first of three tax increases for employers after Gov. Phil Murphy approved a bill this year to space them out.
Business groups and Republican lawmakers panned the tax increase, and pushed for Murphy and state lawmakers to use funds from the federal American Rescue Plan. Under that measure, which President Joe Biden approved in March, the state is getting more than $6 billion from the White House.
Singleton
“[O]ther states have used federal assistance to replenish the funds and it is my hope that New Jersey will do the same to avoid this unwelcome and untimely burden on our businesses,” Singleton said in a letter to Murphy, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-19th District and Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-3rd District.
Addiego, who formally switched from the Republican to Democrat party in early 2019, suggested in a statement later in the day on Monday that the state has “plenty of federal dollars to go around.”
“[T]here is no reason businesses should be burdened with an unemployment tax hike when laying off employees was the only way they could stay afloat through last year’s shutdown,” she continued.
Murphy, who is away in Italy, is allowed to use $200 million of ARP money at his own discretion, with caps of $10 million per spending item. Anything else would need legislative approval and need the sign-off of Coughlin and Sweeney, the gatekeepers in their respective chambers for any legislation.
Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver joings Gov. Phil Murphy as he announces extensive social distancing measures in Trenton to mitigate further spread of COVID-19 on March 16, 2020. – EDWIN J. TORRES/GOVERNOR’S OFFICE
Cecilia William, a spokesperson for Coughlin, said that the three state leaders were looking at “further [unemployment insurance] rate mitigation beyond the three-year easement,” but did not elaborate.
“The Legislature has been committed to helping businesses and the economy recover,” she added, pointing to the hundreds of millions of dollars in COVID-19 relief for business.
Sweeney’s office was not immediately available for comment.
“The Legislature devised a process by which we had to replenish the unemployment trust fund, that is a formula, it is in statute,” Acting Gov. Sheila Oliver told reporters following an unrelated Aug. 16 afternoon event in New Brunswick. “If the Legislature goes in a different direction, time will tell.”
“I would ask businesses to look at how many people have had to rely on unemployment to survive for close to two years. I think that all of us have a responsibility to try to just help our people in New Jersey survive,” she said.
Plan B
Under the Republican- and business lobbying group-backed proposal, the state would use $1.5 billion to replenish the trust fund and $1 billion to repay loans the state took out last year to continue dolling out unemployment benefits.
“It is a small saving grace that employers get to pay this added tax over three years, instead of paying all at once. But at the end of the day, this is a large tax not on income, profits or assets, but on actual jobs as employers desperately look to recover employees,” reads an email from Bob Considine, a spokesperson for the New Jersey Business & Industry Association.
Singleton maintained that unemployment replenishments would nonetheless be an acceptable use of federal ARP money.
“The money can be used to … address negative economic impacts,” Singleton said. “Certainly, an increase in the unemployment insurance tax would qualify as a steep negative economic impact.”
“This increase comes at a particularly difficult time for many of our state’s businesses who are just beginning to re-establish their economic footing,” he said.
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 3:46 p.m. EST on Aug. 16, 2021, to add Sen. Dawn Addiego, a Democrat, as also supporting the plan, in addition to Sen. Troy Singleton. Comments were also added from Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin’s office.
Two major venues in the Garden State – the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel and BB&T Pavilion Camden – are requiring patrons and staff to get the COVID-19 vaccine come Oct. 4.
“Vaccines are going to be your ticket back to shows, and as of Oct. 4 we will be following the model we developed for Lollapalooza and requiring this for artists, fans and employees at Live Nation venues and festivals everywhere possible in the U.S.,” Michael Rapino, the president and chief executive officer of Live Nation Entertainment, said in a weekend interview with NBC.
Live Nation manages events for both stadiums. Last week, Sayreville-based Starland Ballroom said it’s requiring its fans, staff and volunteers to get the shot by Oct. 1.
Those mandates come amid a steady flow of employers across New Jersey and the nation necessitating the jab for their staff and patrons as the delta variant surges almost exclusively among unvaccinated Americans.
Guns N’ Roses at MetLife Stadium on Aug. 5, 2021. – METLIFE STADIUM / KATARINA BENZOVA
The vaccine mandate enters murky legal grounds and has become a politically and culturally divisive topic. But state and federal laws generally allow employers to impose mandates, like for inoculations.
“We realize that some people might look at this as a dramatic step, but it’s the right one,” reads a statement last week from Jay Marciano, chairman and CEO of AEG Presents, which owns the 2,500-seat Sayreville stadium.
“[T]here might be some initial pushback, but I’m confident and hopeful that, at the end of the day, we will be on the right side of history and doing what’s best for artists, fans, and live event workers,” he continued.
But the BB&T Pavilion and PNC Bank Arts Center are orders of a larger magnitude, boasting 25,000 and 17,500 seats, respectively.
AEG and Live Nation have both promoted events for MetLife Stadium, an 82,500-seat venue in East Rutherford. On Aug. 5, they hosted 40,000 fans for a Guns N’ Roses concert–the stadium’s first show since 2019.
Neither proof of a vaccination nor a negative COVID-19 test were required for the show, nor will they be required during the Aug. 27 preseason game between the New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles, according to the venue’s website.
Other major venues and shows could soon require the jab, like the Shadow of the City music festival at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park on Sept. 11.
The band Bleachers, which is headlining the festival, said in a Twitter post that it’s “working with the promoters and venues now to make sure all shows are vaccine” and “negative test for entry for the Bleachers tour.”
jack here – working with the promoters and venues now to make sure all shows are vaccine / negative test for entry for the bleachers tour. we're not messing around. every show will be as safe as possible without any weirdo bullshit.
“We’re not messing around. Every show will be as safe as possible.”
The Spaghetti Dinner Block Party on Aug. 26 in Hoboken will require the shots, as will Tech United’s Propelify Innovation Festival on Oct. 6. Both events are on the Hoboken waterfront. The New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark enacted the same requirement back in April.
New Jersey employers were told shortly before the weekend that they’ll have to pay a combined $250 million in new taxes to replenish the unemployment trust fund, after it was depleted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Aug. 13, the state’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development posted a notice online that employers will have to begin paying a higher payroll tax rate to make up that money.
According to the New Jersey Business & Industry Association, that tax hike kicks in on Oct. 1.
It’s the first of three increases, one per year, meant to put money back into the state unemployment fund after more than 2 million people filed jobless claims over the past 17 months. During that time, Gov. Phil Murphy enacted business closures that practically shut down the state economy, in a bid to halt the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic as it first swept across the state. Most of those restrictions had only just been lifted in May.
All told, employers could be on the hook for nearly $1 billion to refill that money.
Murphy in response to record-high unemployment levels signed a measure spreading out the increases over a three-year period.
Generally with payroll taxes, the worker and employer chip in for the amount paid to the state. Had the law not gone into effect, they would have paid a much steeper rate.
Business groups and Republican state lawmakers pushed for Murphy and the state Legislature to allocate money from the New Jersey’s $6.5 billion in federal aid toward replenishing the fund. So far, they’ve not opted to do so.
“It is a small saving grace that employers get to pay this added tax over three years, instead of paying all at once. But at the end of the day, this is a large tax not on income, profits or assets, but on actual jobs as employers desperately look to recover employees,” reads an email from Bob Considine, a spokesperson for the NJBIA.
Under the proposal, the state would use $1.5 billion to replenish the trust fund and $1 billion to repay loans the state took out last year to continue dolling out unemployment benefits.
Oroho
State Sen. Steven Oroho, R-24th District, a ranking GOP member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, called the tax increase “avoidable,
” had the state used federal money.
“We should have used COVID relief money that the state already has in its possession instead of adding burdens to job creators,” he said in an Aug. 13 statement.
Murphy, when pressed in June about using funds, maintained that “our small businesses need the help,” promising that “ we are going to stay at it.”
With the pandemic dragging into its 17th month, insurers, lawyers and businesses said they’ve grown anxious about the looming prospect of litigation. The fear is of a surge of suits by customers or employees against businesses, alleging that they caught COVID-19 at a particular establishment, whose owners failed to take the necessary precautions to prevent illness.
“I know the carriers, nationwide, are really starting to brace for that, including in higher premiums, building up and being prepared for increased costs,” said Gary La Spisa, vice president of the Insurance Council of New Jersey. The trade group’s membership includes such companies as Geico, AAA, Progressive, State Farm, NJM Insurance Group, Liberty Mutual Insurance and USAA.
La Spisa
“These cases don’t have to be filed for almost another year in some cases,” La Spisa added. “We may not start seeing the cases, but we’re certainly seeing preparation for cases, and steps being taken.”
Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, parties have filed 370 COVID-related employment lawsuits in New Jersey, out of 2,956 nationwide, according to the law firm Fisher Philips. In New Jersey, 102 of the cases were filed in the health care industry, or 27.6%. Following that, 43 of the cases were filed in retail settings and 34 cases were filed in manufacturing.
Sources of litigation range from remote-work disputes, to allegedly unsafe working conditions, discrimination, negligence and wrongful death.
Now, with the delta variant likely to prolong the pandemic, employers and insurance companies “will be watching carefully” to see how those suits are resolved, according to Christopher Pizzo, partner and chair of the insurance practice group at the law firm Fox Rothschild. “Certainly the longer that COVID remains part of our day-to-day life, the potential for developments which leads to greater losses, and therefore litigation, is always a possibility,” he said.
Pizzo
“Insurers have feared the increase in claims and I think they still do have a certain amount of concern particularly as employers are headed back to the workplace,” he continued.
Under a bill Gov. Phil Murphy approved last September, an essential worker who contracted COVID-19 is presumed to have gotten it at their place of work, making them eligible for worker’s compensation. The new law includes workers such as first responders and health care, transit, grocery, retail and gas station workers, and is retroactive to when Murphy declared the public health emergency in March 2020. Any absences from work because of the illness are be counted as “on-duty time” and cannot be used against a worker’s paid sick leave balance.
“The men and women who are on the front lines protecting our health and safety and providing the vital services we all need during this crisis must be assured that they have basic worker protections and that they can get workers’ compensation if they fall ill to the coronavirus,” Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-3rd District, said in a September statement. Sweeney was one of the bill’s sponsors.
Egenton
The bill was praised by worker’s rights groups as a means to ensure businesses and high-risk places of employment – like health care settings – adhere to the strictest standards of health and safety. But business groups foresee problems. “How do you begin to decipher where they contracted it, unless you spend some meticulous time backtracking their steps, where they were publicly, did they wear a mask, were they vaccinated or not vaccinated,” said Mike Egenton, who heads government affairs for the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce.
The fear, he said, is for someone to contract the virus while “shopping or in a bar or at the beach,” and claim it was from their place of work.
But Dena Mottola Jaborska, associate director at the progressive advocacy group New Jersey Citizen Action, said the new law is not meant to go after businesses that follow public health guidance and rules.
“If they’re being sued, it’s because they really ignored the guidelines,” she said. “I would say those lawsuits are warranted.”
“Anybody who’s operating right now as a business or an employer needs to take precautions,” like following what’s laid out by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
To help soften the blow for employers, a pair of bills were introduced last year that would create legal immunity for businesses and employers from COVID-19 claims, so long as they’ve taken measures to prevent or mitigate the spread of the virus within their establishment.
“The liability protections sought by the business, nonprofit, and higher education communities create the right balance by shielding only those businesses and institutions that comply with applicable guidelines, while providing no liability protections for “bad actors” who flout standards or fail to provide a safe environment,” reads a September 2020 letter by the New Jersey Business Coalition.
But neither measure, Senate Bills 2634 and 2628 , have moved in the state Legislature. Lawmakers do not anticipate reconvening in Trenton until after the November election.
Events up and down the Garden State are beginning to require the COVID-19 vaccine for admission, as lagging inoculation rates fuel a surge in the highly contagious delta variant. The Spaghetti Dinner Block Party on Aug. 26 in Hoboken will require the shots, as will Tech United’s Propelify Innovation Festival on Oct. 6. Both events are on the Hoboken waterfront.
Starland Ballroom in Sayreville. – AEG PRESENTS / STARLAND BALLROOM
And Los Angeles-based AEG Presents, which owns the 2,500-person Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, is requiring the vaccine or negative test results within the past 72 hours in order to gain admission to any concerts or shows after Oct. 1.
According to an Aug. 12 Starland Facebook post, the mandate will extend to all “fans, artists, and live event workers.”
“We realize that some people might look at this as a dramatic step, but it’s the right one,” reads a statement from AEG Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jay Marciano. “[T]here might be some initial pushback, but I’m confident and hopeful that, at the end of the day, we will be on the right side of history and doing what’s best for artists, fans, and live event workers.”
In Hoboken, proof of vaccine for the block party will be required for anyone over the age of 12, while those under 12 – not yet able to get any shot – will be required to wear a face mask.
Delta surges
Over the past month, daily cases and total hospitalizations have climbed to their highest level since the late spring.
The state logged 1,697 new COVID-19 cases on Aug. 12, the highest since April 29, according to the New Jersey Department of Health. Total hospitalizations climbed to 763 statewide patients, the most since mid-May.
According to state data, the delta variant accounted for 90% of new cases in the four-week period ending July 24.
With less than 5.4 million of New Jersey’s more than 9 million residents fully vaccinated, the sizable pool of unvaccinated residents has provided ample ground for the new variant to spread, according to public health officials and experts.
Deaths and hospitalizations are almost exclusively among those who have not gotten the vaccine, according to the Murphy administration.
Gov. Phil Murphy has shied away from announcing new mandates or restrictions, like the reduced capacity orders that were in place for most businesses for over a year. He did sign a requirement that anyone in a K-12 school must wear a mask regardless of their vaccine status, and has “strongly” urged people to wear masks indoors while in public whether or not they’ve gotten the shot.
Health care workers and other frontline employees have until Sept. 7 to get the shot or submit to weekly testing.
But Murphy’s left it up to individual employers to decide whether or not to mandate the vaccine, even though New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said that patrons beginning Aug. 16 need to get the vaccine in order to gain access to indoor dining, gyms and entertainment.
The vaccine mandate enters murky legal grounds and has become a politically and culturally divisive topic. But state and federal laws generally allow employers to impose mandates, like inoculations.
“Employers don’t want to be in the position of having to dictate the health care of their employees, nor do they want to be the police over customers frequenting their facilities,” said Michele Siekerka, president and chief executive officer of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association. “It creates animosity and not a great customer experience.”
The U.S. Small Business Administration has more to offer applicants of the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program.
New applications seeking economic aid for live entertainment small businesses, nonprofits, and venues will be accepted until 2:59 a.m. EST on Aug. 21.
Thus far, the SVOG program has awarded $8.4 billion in grants to more than 10,800 cultural institutions.
While the application portal will close to new applicants, the SBA will continue delivering aid through the supplemental awards program. The SBA will open the program for supplemental SVOGs later in August for 50% of the original award amount, capped at a total of $10 million. Details will be announced at a later date.
The SBA is also currently accepting, by invitation, applications for reconsideration of award amounts and appeal; and should the need arise, the SBA may reopen the portal or make adjustments to best meet the needs of small businesses.
“After making much-needed improvements to this vital program, we’ve made swift progress getting more than $8 billion in funds into the hands of more than 10,800 performing arts venues and other related businesses – two-thirds of which employ less than 10 employees. These small businesses suffered disproportionate impacts from the pandemic and were often left out of early rounds of relief,” SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman said in a prepared statement.
“However, we also know so many small businesses continue to struggle. That’s why, as this program nears the finish line, we’re providing additional funding options for our hardest-hit venues through our supplemental awards program, which will provide another critical lifeline to ensure businesses can reopen and stay open,” Guzman said.
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 3:32 p.m. EST on Aug. 11, 2021, to update the deadline for SVOG applications to Eastern Standard Time. The Pacific Standard Time deadline is 11:59 p.m. PST on Aug. 20.
The New Jersey Economic Development Authority is formally rolling out a $100 million program meant to support small employers and “microbusinesses” as they eye their COVID-19 recovery.
Employers will have more help to secure direct grants or less expensive loans to expand operations under the new state aid, fully titled the Main Street Recovery Finance Program.
NJEDA CEO Tim Sullivan attends the ribbon cutting ceremony for New Jersey’s largest film studio – Cinelease Studios, Caven Point in Jersey City – on Aug. 6, 2021. – EDWIN J. TORRES / GOVERNOR’S OFFICE
Tim Sullivan, who heads the NJEDA, said in a statement after the Aug. 11 board approval for the program that it will “provide new resources tailored specifically to help business owners recover from the impacts of the pandemic and prepare for long-term success.”
There are several layers to the initiative, meant to offer aid to smaller-sized companies that might not have use for the mammoth tax breaks offered under the $14.5 billion landmark incentive program Gov. Phil Murphy approved in January.
That includes $10 million of grants to cover small businesses for their annual lease payments under the Small Business Lease Assistance Grant program, potentially doubled to $20 million. That aid could only go toward paying for the costs of renting between 250 and 10,000 square feet of new or added street-level commercial space.
The NJEDA will set aside $4 million for businesses based out of the state’s 715 poorest communities, known as Opportunity Zone eligible census tracts.
Another $15 million – potentially doubled to $30 million – would go toward “Small Business Improvement Grants,” which cover up to 50% of eligible business improvement costs going back to March 9, 2020 at the start of the pandemic.
Grants are capped at $50,000 and would compensate businesses for expenses such as the purchase and installation of new furniture, fixtures and equipment.
Businesses need to pay workers at least $15 an hour or 120% of the state $12 hourly minimum wage, whichever is greater. And they need to start at whatever facility they’ve moved into for however long is outlined in the grant agreement.
Over the course of the pandemic and related business closures and restrictions, NJEDA officials have approved hundreds of millions of dollars in grants and low-interest loans to help those establishments stay afloat.
Those will continue for the near future, with Gov. Phil Murphy having just approved a $135 million pool of grant funding, and the NJEDA rolling out a $17.5 million state subsidy program for COVID-hit live venues, and other related arts and culture establishments.
A North Jersey restaurant could be the first in the state mandating that any indoor dining patrons first get the COVID-19 vaccine, as lagging inoculation rates fuel a widespread surge in the delta variant.
The rules from the eatery – It’s Greek to Me in Ridgewood – go into effect Aug. 10, and follow similar requirements that go into effect on Aug. 16 for indoor dining, gyms and theaters in New York City.
“For the safety of our fully vaccinated staff and patrons at It’s Greek to Me Ridgewood … indoor dining will be reserved for those showing proof of vaccination,” reads an Aug. 3 post on its Facebook page. The restaurant is scheduled to open at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, according to the website.
“All families with children will always be given one of our cabanas or heated greenhouses,” both of which are outdoors, the post continues. “We realize this is a difficult time and are trying to accommodate the diverse needs of all of our patrons-including seniors and those with immune system deficiencies.”
Social media posts since then have all included the disclaimer.
Passing on passports
Gov. Phil Murphy has largely been resistant to vaccine mandates in the private sector, and many employers NJBIZ interviewed, either said they will not require the shot, or opted not to comment or even respond to inquiries.
Public sector workers – like state employees and teachers – still are not required to get the jab. Last week, the State Judiciary said that its more than 8,000 court staff and judges have to get the shot by Aug. 20.
The vaccine mandate enters murky legal grounds and has become a politically and culturally divisive topic. But state and federal laws generally allow employers to impose mandates, like inoculations.
Siekerka
“Employers don’t want to be in the position of having to dictate the health care of their employees, nor do they want to be the police over customers frequenting their facilities,” said Michele Siekerka, president and chief executive officer of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association. “It creates animosity and not a great customer experience.”
Nonetheless, with less than 5.4 million of New Jersey’s more than 9 million residents fully vaccinated, the sizable pool of unvaccinated residents has provided ample ground for the new variant to spread, according to public health officials and experts.
“You can see here that the vaccines are still proving themselves highly effective and well more than 99% of those who have received them are finding protection from contracting the virus, from hospitalization and from a COVID-related death,” the governor said during his regular COVID-19 press briefing on Aug. 9.
According to the latest data from the New Jersey Department of Health, the 4,332 new positive cases between July 20 and 26 included 3,529 who were unvaccinated or not yet fully vaccinated: for an 18.5% positivity rate among the vaccinated.
Deaths and hospitalizations are almost exclusively among those who have not gotten the vaccine, Murphy said.
While Murphy has largely shied away from top-heavy mandates, he’s nonetheless contended that some alternative to the New York City rules could be in order.
“You want to make sure that whatever you put in place you can enforce,” added Murphy, who is leaving Aug. 10 for a 10-day vacation to his Italian mansion.
Last week, Murphy signed an order mandating employees get the vaccine if they work at New Jersey’s county jails and state correctional facilities, veterans homes, psychiatric centers, 71 acute-care hospitals, specialty hospitals, developmental centers, long-term care and assisted-living facilities, short-term and post-acute in-patient rehabs, home health agencies, behavioral health care facilities, and the state-owned University Hospital. They have until Sept. 7 to do so, or they have to submit to routine testing.
People in the state are also strongly encouraged to wear face coverings indoors – regardless of their vaccine status – in counties with notable spread of the virus, a threshold that now encompasses all of New Jersey’s 21 counties.
Despite the COVID-19 delta variant fueling months-long record-high daily cases and total hospitalizations in the state, Gov. Phil Murphy assured that patrons in the Garden State can still carry about business as usual.
That’s as long as they get vaccinated, wear masks when necessary, and “take yourself off the field” if at all suspicious of COVID-19 exposure.
“Just be smart about travel and what your posture is when you’re in transit and when you get” to your destination, the governor said during a regular COVID-19 press briefing on Aug. 9.
Murphy, on Monday, frequently brought up the case of Florida, which according to federal data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported some of its all-time, record-highs in daily new cases during the pandemic.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has barred local governments from enacting mask mandates and has downplayed the severity of the virus and delta variant spread.
Gov. Phil Murphy, First Lady Tammy Murphy, Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, Whoopi Goldberg, Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo, the Reverend Melvin Wilson and the Office of East Orange Mayor Ted Green participate in a “Grateful for the Shot” vaccination event on May 14, 2021. – OIT / GOVERNORS OFFICE
“Use your common sense,” Murphy added, which means, “wearing a mask when you’re inside and you’re not sure the vaccine status of the people you’re with.”
According to the CDC, the spread of the virus has gotten high enough that indoor masking is recommended in all of the state’s 21 counties, regardless of vaccination status. These latest surges, both in New Jersey and nationwide, are almost exclusively among those who have not gotten the vaccine, according to state health officials.
As the summer draws to a close, the state’s summer tourism sector typically braces for a surge in patronage from visitors hankering to squeeze in a final shore visit, family trip or vacation.
And on top of that, many concerts, festivals, conventions, and other large gatherings are still scheduled to go ahead.
That ranges from concerts at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel and BB&T Pavilion in Camden, to the New York Jets and Giants fall football season at MetLife and Rutgers Scarlet Knights’ football season at SHI Stadium, and a slew of concerts and sports matches at Prudential Center. All of these venues each host tens of thousands of patrons.
Beyond that, the Atlantic City Airshow at the seaside resort town and Barefoot Country Music Festival in Wildwood are coming up this month and both draw thousands of patrons to their communities.
In and out
With many of those events outdoors, Murphy contended that they were nonetheless safe to attend, though a review of the state’s rules surrounding indoor events may be warranted as the summer turns to fall and the weather becomes chillier.
“This is a much different beast outside than inside,” the governor said. “As it relates to masking … you could see it different between an event and an indoor event.”
“I would guess as the weather turns a little cooler as we get toward football season, and you’re expecting capacity crowds … if you get to the New Jersey Devils season a couple of months later … this is some stuff we’re going to continue to review.”
Public health figures have largely been wary about crowded events – indoors or outdoors – like the Lollapalooza Chicago music festival, which they worried could become a super-spreader event.
“Our concern is … if the delta variant … or some other variant is still very active in the community, those become spreader events,” said Michael Maron, CEO of Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck – widely considered ground zero for New Jersey’s COVID-19 pandemic.
“Shutting down those events again would probably be the greater mitigation intervention,” Maron said.
COVID-19 vaccine. – JOSUE LORA FOR THE OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
A late July poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that among Americans unvaccinated against COVID-19, 35% “probably will not” and 45% “definitely will not” get inoculated. Vaccine resistors remain steadfast despite rising cases of the delta variant and public leaders like Gov. Phil Murphy and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio are searching for ways to convince more individuals to get vaccinated.
On Aug. 3, De Blasio said that vaccine proof will be required to take part in most indoor activities, including indoor dining, gyms, and theaters. Murphy so far has avoided saying whether he would take the state that far, but he was considering tactics “in the general neighborhood of what New York City is doing.”
Vaccine mandates, by the government or private employers, have proven one of the most politically and culturally polarizing topics, more so than mask mandates. Perhaps not surprisingly, then, when NJBIZ reached out to 55 companies, including some of the state’s largest employers, eight declined to comment and 32 simply did not respond. Among those that did, many said that they had not adopted a mandate but were strongly encouraging their workers to get the jab, be it through strong messaging or incentives.
Siekerka
“Employers don’t want to be in the position of having to dictate the health care of their employees, nor do they want to be the police over customers frequenting their facilities,” said Michele Siekerka, president and chief executive officer of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association. “It creates animosity and not a great customer experience.”
Some of the state rules on vaccinations do make sense, she said, citing Murphy’s recently enacted vaccine mandate for workers at county jails and correctional facilities, veterans’ homes, psychiatric centers, acute-care hospitals, specialty hospitals, developmental centers, long-term care and assisted-living facilities, short-term and post-acute in-patient rehabs, home health agencies, University Hospital, and all behavioral health care facilities. Those employees have until Sept. 7 to get the shot, or submit to routine testing every week.
“A lot of the health care system already were leaning in these directions,” Siekerka said.
Hospitals such as Trinitas, and two of the state’s largest health care networks: RWJBarnabas and Hackensack Meridian Health, are all mandating the shot.
Meanwhile the private sector, Murphy said on Aug. 3, is “empowered to work on a more ambitious timeline or to require either a more rigorous testing regime or eliminate that option completely and require all employees to be vaccinated as a matter of their continued employment.”
An online poll run by NJBIZ on the issue garnered 73 responses to the question: Is your business/company requiring vaccines as a condition of employment?” Among the respondents, 70% said no; 18% answered yes; and 12% said they were unsure.
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“It’s just if you can avoid it, and it’s never good management to dictate anything to employees these days,” said Tom Bracken, who heads the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce.
Bracken
Of the companies that did respond to NJBIZ inquiries on the record, several were taking their cues from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and news about the spread of the virus.
A TD Bank representative said that while the bank doesn’t currently mandate employee vaccinations, “the situation remains fluid and we are evaluating in real-time.” A Stop & Shop representative said that vaccines won’t be mandated unless required by state and local regulation.
A representative from Bank of America said the company is encouraging staff to get the shot, but not requiring it. Masks must be worn in areas where social distancing is difficult, such as elevators and common areas.
A representative for CVS Health said staff are encouraged to get the vaccine, but there is no mandate in place. “We’ve made it as easy as possible for employees to get vaccinated by providing access to dedicated appointments, holding employee-only clinics, and encouraging walk-in vaccinations at our stores,” said a CVS spokesperson.
Rite Aid, in an email, said the company had “nothing to report.”
Campbell Soup Co. said it’s not requiring the vaccine, but employees nonetheless must share their vaccination status with human resources. “Having this information will help us keep everyone safe and factor into our protocols, including the use of personal face masks, social distancing, travel and other office re-entry plans,” a spokesperson said.
Tim McLoone, owner of several restaurants including Iron Whale in Asbury Park and The Robinson Ale House in Asbury Park, Red Bank and Long Branch, said that “this is evolving on a daily basis now.” His staff recently returned to full masking for all employees, and he noted that “this can be very tough on the kitchen when the heat really ramps up and I think might be as dangerous as catching a disease. So, we are working on doing everything we can to get 100% vaccinations without mandating just yet, although everything is pointing in that direction.”
Joshua Suggs, owner of Delta’s Restaurant in New Brunswick, said his team is “still taking the pulse to see how employees would react to” a vaccine mandate and that he’s undecided if he’ll mandate a vaccine if and when the vaccine gets full Food & Drug Administration authorization.
Chef David Burke of David Burke Hospitality Management said that he needs to make the decision with the various partners he has for each of his restaurants, but that he has “no issue” with the New York City mandate, which affects two of his restaurants.
Amy Russo, owner of Toast in Red Bank, Asbury Park, and Montclair, told NJBIZ, “There’s no way in holy hell that I’d be asking my employees if they got the vaccine or not. There are so many things we can’t ask – we can’t ask someone’s age, but now we can ask this? It’s personal and that’s not something I’m going to mandate, nor am I even going to ask.”
“I make pancakes and eggs for a living. Now I have to ask people if they’re vaccinated and make a judgment on it? Kind of ridiculous,” Russo said.
A Novartis spokesperson sent this statement about the company’s policy: “At Novartis, we have communicated to our associates that we expect that everyone coming on campus has been fully vaccinated or has tested negative for COVID-19 within the last 14 days prior to each site visit. With the increase of people becoming infected with the highly contagious delta variant of the virus, and the potential for more variants to develop among the unvaccinated, we strongly encourage all of our associates to be vaccinated as soon as possible. We will continue to monitor the situation and update our policy as appropriate.”
Joe Berchtold, chief financial officer of Live Nation Entertainment – which operates PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel and the BB&T Pavilion in Camden – suggested during a second quarter earnings call on Aug. 3 that the trend is moving toward mandates. “I think what we’re seeing is a shift to increasing requirements for entry of either vaccinated or tested or fully vaccinated.”
But for the most part, employers “simply have not made up their minds,” said Corey Hannah Basch, a professor and chair of the public health department at William Paterson University – hence the radio silence. Many businesses are at an impasse, “waiting for others to make these types of decisions before they do so for themselves,” Basch said. “When and if the majority are initiating mandates, the behavior will become more normative,” she continued.
United Airlines, which uses Newark Liberty International Airport as one of its main hubs, said it’s requiring the vaccine for any hires after June 16. – 12ANONYMOUSUSER34/WIKIMEDIACOMMONS.ORG https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:United_EWR.png
Several businesses have already put requirements in place. In July, Lowenstein Sandler Managing Partner Gary Wingens informed his staff that come Aug. 2, the office would be open only to employees who have been fully vaccinated, citing “the progress we have made in making people feel comfortable returning to the office … and the emergence of the more virulent delta variant over the past few weeks.”
United Airlines, which uses Newark Liberty International Airport as one of its main hubs, said it’s requiring the vaccine for any hires after June 16. For those employees hired previously, the carrier is offering financial perks to pilots, and added vacation days. Masks don’t need to be worn at the corporate offices, by any worker who can show that they’ve gotten the vaccine.
Prudential Financial, based in Newark, said its staff must be fully vaccinated in order to return to the office. “We made this decision for the safety and well-being of our employees, in accordance with all applicable laws and after carefully considering both the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health authorities,” said a Prudential spokesperson.
Employee rights
Timothy Ford, a partner at Einhorn, Barbarito, Frost & Botwinick, and member of the firm’s employment and litigation departments, pointed out that New Jersey law allows employers to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine and collect relevant data from their staff. But businesses need to securely store that data, not go beyond whether an individual got the vaccine, and make accommodations so that a worker who claims a religious or medical exemption is still able to participate in their job.
Gov. Phil Murphy called out a group of anti-vaxxers while speaking at a press conference Aug. 4, 2021. – NJOIT/GOVERNOR’S OFFICE – NJOIT / GOVERNOR’S OFFICE
Nonetheless, most are taking a “wait and see approach,” he said back in July.
But Donald Scarinci, founder and managing partner of Scarinci Hollenbeck, said that he won’t get involved in people’s personal health decisions. “We don’t believe that an employer has the right to tell people what they could or could not do with their bodies. There’s a privacy issue here and we’re not going to mandate an injection [for our employees],” Scarinci said.
Mask rules might differ for vaccinated and unvaccinated staff when the firm’s offices reopen Sept. 9, but that could depend on what’s going on with the variants, he noted. Fewer employees will return to the office than before the pandemic as some moved to primarily remote work permanently. For those who do come in, the firm has adopted a liberalized “if you think you’re sick” sick policy and also added filters to its HVAC system to better circulate the air.
But Scarinci, a constitutional law expert, will stay away from mandates. “I think it’s going to be a litigated issue … a major legal issue in the future, which is why I’ve taken the position, I want no part of people’s personal health decisions,” he said. “But it could also be said [that] if you don’t mandate the injection, you’re subjecting others to a risk. I think it’s a weaker argument, though, than the sanctity of the person’s body.”
Labor unions in both the public and private sector are both pushing for greater employee input over mandates. Murphy’s vaccine mandate did not extend to state workers, most of whom are represented by the New Jersey chapter of the Communications Workers of America, a Murphy political ally. Nor did it extend to transit workers or teachers and other school employees, who are represented by the New Jersey Education Association, a powerful financial backer of the Murphy gubernatorial campaign. “We have been in communication with relevant stakeholders regarding our policy including our union partners across both the public and private sectors,” Murphy said on Aug. 3.
“We look forward to working with the Murphy Administration and having cooperative discussions to ensure public health, while also respecting bargaining,” CWA-NJ State Director Fran Ehret said in a statement to several news outlets. “The state colleges and universities have already proposed that workers – both CWA-represented and otherwise — be subject to mandatory vaccination. We’ve been reviewing that proposal internally already and look forward to bargaining with the state on it.”
White
In the health care sector, the vaccine mandate has led to some grumblings among workers. One official at the Health Professionals and Allied Employees nurse’s union noted that “the vaccine mandate is a new job condition,” meaning that “by law and our contracts, we have a right to discuss how that will affect our members.” Debbie White, a career nurse and head of HPAE, warned in a statement that “there are some for whom the vaccine is prohibitive.”
María Eugenia Lanao, a spokesperson for 32BJ SEUI, a union that represents thousands of service workers, wrote that “for those who choose not to get vaccinated, we are bargaining with our employers to ensure that their rights are respected.”
“There should be opportunities for them to be re-assigned to other worksites, or where that is not possible that the testing requirements are free, easily accessible, and on paid time,” she continued.
US Futsal National Championship at the Atlantic City Convention Center, July 8 to 11, 2021. – MEET AC
When thousands of concert-goers packed into Chicago’s Grant Park for the Lollapalooza music festival at the end of July, the event drew widespread scorn from public health experts. The nation remains in the throes of a deadly pandemic and lagging vaccination rates have provided an avenue for the highly contagious delta variant to spread among the unvaccinated populace. Even some individuals who have gotten the shot are testing positive with breakthrough infections. So is it safe to join crowds at live shows?
Basch
“The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us that we need to be prepared at any moment for the situation to change, and that includes the feasibility of keeping COVID-19 transmission rates down while holding large scale events,” said Corey Hannah Basch, a professor and chair of the public health department at William Paterson University. New Jerseyans “have to be diligent and proactive to prevent a surge like we experienced in early 2020,” added Lewis Nelson, who chairs emergency medicine at the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.
“I imagine that many states will go back toward the guidelines we followed last year regarding mass gatherings, including masking and distancing for highly attended outdoor events and all indoor ones,” Nelson continued. “Some may indeed be cancelled.”
When vaccination rates picked up in the spring and early summer, event organizers responded by opening up sports seasons, concerts, plays, fairs and festival line-ups, many of which were cancelled during the worst of the pandemic last year.
Now, amid a resurgent outbreak, those plans are in jeopardy.
“If it continues down this road, it’s really going to get much worse as we continue to the winter,” said Sean Gilday, CEO of the music and entertainment booking agency Blue Raven Entertainment, based in Saddle Brook. “I’m not worried that it will get worse. It will get worse. It’s a virus that thrives in the October weather.”
Even now, some musicians have been warned by venues that the delta variant means they could very well lose out on any money. “They’re willing to book the show, but they’re saying they don’t want to guarantee them the money because of the delta,” Gilday said. “Right now, we’re just doing it.”
And so executives like Gilday and Mike Childs, founder and president of Ledge Entertainment, another entertainment agency, said the only option for now at least is to push ahead. “We’re all reading about how everyone’s anxious … but we’re still selling tickets, people want to get out and go to shows.”
Large indoor and outdoor events were among the last where COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, and Gilday said they could very likely be the first to go if the pandemic once again worsens. Crowds of hundreds or thousands of people make social distancing almost impossible.
Maron
Michael Maron, CEO of Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck – widely considered ground zero for New Jersey’s COVID-19 pandemic – said that if the delta variant worsens, live events should be the first to go. “Our concern is … if the delta variant … or some other variant is still very active in the community, those become spreader events,” he said in an interview. “Shutting down those events again would probably be the greater mitigation intervention.”
Some event organizers have indeed taken that sentiment to heart. Michael Arnone’s 31st Annual Crawfish Festival, which was scheduled for later this month in Sussex County, is being pushed to June of next year because of the delta variant spread. “We know people will be exposed at the Crawfish Fest,” reads a July 30 statement. The event brings out thousands of attendees to the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta, and over 100 bands and musical acts.
Existing guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the organizers feared, might simply not be enough to prevent an outbreak. “Our dance hall is indoors and our pavilion stage is covered, semi- indoors with people dancing and touching,” the statement reads. “The CDC stated vaccinated people who are infected by delta may carry a large amount of the virus and transmit it to others. We know there maybe unvaccinated folks there … It will be near impossible to keep people masked and at a safe distance.”
In Asbury Park, the Sea Hear Now festival scheduled for Sept. 18-19 is requiring patrons to get a COVID-19 vaccine or produce a negative test result. The event was cancelled in 2020, and this year it’ll bring out thousands of attendees to view the lineup featuring Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins and the Avett Brothers. “The safety of our patrons and our staff is our number one priority,” the festival said in an Aug. 4 Twitter post.
The safety of our patrons and our staff is our number one priority. As such, a full COVID-19 vaccination or negative COVID-19 test results will be required to attend https://t.co/Lyggl5kcIG 2021. pic.twitter.com/7jcglCBE6k
Up north in Bayonne, the Bridge Arts Gallery organizes the city’s annual Bridge Arts Festival, which is sent for Sept. 11 this year, and according to the events manager Cheryl Mack usually brings out upward of 4,500 patrons. This year, attendees are being asked to wear masks and vendors are being physically spaced out, according to Mack. And the hand sanitizing stations common for most of the pandemic will be set up across the fair, she said.
In fact, a majority of organizers say they’re pushing ahead with whatever concert, festival or sporting event is on the calendar, at least until a government mandate forces their hands.
2021 Art in the Park in Bayonne, a weekly precurser to the annual Bridge Arts Festival. – – CHERYL MACK
MetLife Stadium hosted its first concert since 2019 on Aug. 5 with a show by Guns N’ Roses. Proof of vaccine was not required, nor was a negative COVID-19 test. “An inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 and its variants exists in any public place where people are present; we cannot guarantee you will not be exposed during your visit,” reads a statement from MetLife Stadium. “COVID-19 is an extremely contagious disease that can lead to severe illness and death,” the statement continues. “By visiting MetLife Stadium, you voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19 and its variants.”
Representatives for the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets, which both play MetLife Stadium, could not be reached for comment.
Many concerts are still on at two of New Jersey’s largest venues: the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel and the BB&T Pavilion in Camden. Lynyrd Skynyrd is playing at PNC Bank on Aug. 27, Maroon 5 on Sept. 10, and the Jonas Brothers on Oct. 5. “We’re working closely with local officials and will continue to enhance safety guidelines,” reads a statement from Live Nation, which operates both venues. “We also encourage everyone who can to get vaccinated as that is the best way for us all to take care of each other and get back to doing what we love.”
Another large concert venue, the Prudential Center in Newark, could not be reached for comment, while the nearby New Jersey Performing Arts Center in the same city declined to comment.
At the Atlantic City Convention Center, executives have yet to see a drop-off in patronage or interest due to the spread of the variant. Clients are “in the process of exploring all options including mask requirements, signage, identifying hand sanitizing stations and other platforms to address attendee and exhibitor concerns,” said officials at Meet AC, which handles marketing for the center and nearby Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall, a concert venue.
Nor have there been any cancellations of upcoming events or potential downtowns in attendance for those events. “In fact, attendance was increased during the last few events.”
The venue’s schedule picks up in the winter months, when the cold weather forces tourists and visitors off of the beach and boardwalk. The first large event this year is Dino-Stroll, which is expected to bring out 12,000 patrons between Oct. 1 and 25.
After that, the New Jersey Education Association’s annual convention will bring out an estimated 15,000 attendees Nov. 4-5, followed by 22,000 patrons at the New Jersey League of Municipalities annual conference Nov. 16-18. Both events were held virtually in 2020.
Nearly an hour south on the Cape May peninsula, event organizers at the Greater Wildwoods Tourism, Improvement and Development Authority, which operates the 7,000-seat, 260,000-square-foot Wildwood Convention Center, said events are moving ahead this summer.
The Barefoot Country Musical Festival on the beach is planned for Aug. 19-22, and tens of thousands of attendees are expected this year. “We are following all CDC and NJ Department of Health recommendations and mandates regarding outdoor events in order to provide the safest experience for our visitors,” said Ben Rose, who handles marketing for the GWTIDA, in an email.
Last year, the New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center hosted the Edison Field Hospital. – OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL/TIM LARSEN
At the New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center in Edison, organizers of the annual New Jersey Mineral, Fossil, Gem and Jewelry Show in mid-August expect the event to continue full speed ahead. Vaccines and masks won’t be required this year, according to the organizers. Upwards of 14,000 attendees are expected, said Lowell Carhart, one of the founders of Eons Expos, which organizes the annual event.
The floor-space set-up is more like a grocery store than a bar, restaurant or concert, said Carhart, who is betting on the high vaccination rates in New Jersey in the hope that most people who show up will have gotten the shot. “The risk is only to those who willingly choose to take the risk by not vaccinating,” Carhart said in an email. “[F]olks who wish to be vaccinated have already done so (as we have) and can attend with minimal risk, while those who have not have vaccinated have made their decision to accept the risk.”
At the Sussex County Fairgrounds, organizers for the New Jersey State Fair are also taking their chances. The fair kicked off on Aug. 7, and runs through Aug. 14. “The Fairgrounds is spread out over more than [100] acres. The barns, pavilions, and tents are open to the air” while the indoor buildings “have fans circulating air,” a statement reads. “Multiple roads and walkways between tents allow for social distancing.”
Mike Richards, the fairgrounds manager, said in an email that interest from vendors and food concessions was greater than in 2019, while “advance sales online for admission and the demolition derby continue to be strong.”
Thousands of court staff and state judges across New Jersey will be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine or submit to routine testing, according to an Aug. 6 afternoon announcement from the State Judiciary.
The announcement makes the State Judiciary – which handles the network of county and appeals courts, and the state Supreme Court – the largest government agency in New Jersey to mandate the jab for its workers.
It does not list the deadline for getting the shot.
The move comes as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations reach their highest levels in months amid a surge in the highly contagious delta variant among those still hesitant or unable to get the vaccine.
On Aug. 5, the state logged 1,345 new cases–the highest one-day spike in three months and four times the daily cases on July 1. Meanwhile, the state logged 599 hospitalizations, double what they were on July 1.
As of Aug. 4, the seven-day average was 1,103 cases, compared to a seven-day average on July 9 of 222 cases, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The new policy is being implemented to support a safe workplace for all members of the Judiciary and all court users amid worsening COVID-19 trends in New Jersey and across the nation,” said Judge Glenn Grant, acting administrative director of the courts.
At the start of the week, Gov. Phil Murphy signed an order mandating employees get the vaccine if they work at county jails and state correctional facilities, the veteran’s homes, psychiatric centers, 71 acute-care hospitals, specialty hospitals, developmental centers, long-term care and assisted-living facilities, short-term and post-acute in-patient rehabs, home health agencies, behavioral health care facilities, and the state-owned University Hospital.
Meanwhile, the bi-state Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs Newark Liberty International Airport, the seaports in Union and Essex counties, and the Hudson River crossings, is requiring a shot or a frequent negative COVID-19 test of it’s New York employees.
There are no announced plans for mandating vaccines among New Jersey Transit workers and Garden State PANYNJ workers, nor for state workers or school employees, but Murphy said it was being considered.
“We have been in communication with relevant stakeholders regarding our policy including our union partners across both the public and private sectors,” Murphy said on Aug. 3.
Thousands of public employees are represented by Communications Workers of America New Jersey Chapter and most teachers and school employees by the New Jersey Education Association of New Jersey.
“We look forward to working with the Murphy Administration and having cooperative discussions to ensure public health, while also respecting bargaining,” CWA-NJ State Director Fran Ehret said in a statement to several news outlets. “The state colleges and universities have already proposed that workers – both CWA-represented and otherwise — be subject to mandatory vaccination. We’ve been reviewing that proposal internally already and look forward to bargaining with the state on it.”
Private sector actors have slowly transitioned away from incentivizing their employees to get the shot toward an employee mandate, like the recent requirement announced by United Airlines, which uses Newark Liberty International Airport as one of its major hubs.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to grant full approval for either the J&J, Moderna or Pfizer vaccines, or all three of them, which legal experts contend would trigger more workplace vaccine mandates.
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