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WHEREAS, the
New Jersey State Government is committed to providing a safe and
healthy working environment for its employees and to improving methods
of administration to promote efficiency and economy in its operations;
and
WHEREAS, the
State of New Jersey provides sick leave injury benefits to employees
for injury or illness directly caused by and arising from State
employment; and
WHEREAS, the
total annual cost of providing State employee sick leave injury
benefits is approximately $30 million which includes costs for lost
work days, overtime usage, temporary workers, medical expenses and
program administration; and
WHEREAS, the
Governor's Management Review Commission, in cooperation with the
Department of Personnel, has undertaken a comprehensive operational
review of the State employee sick leave injury program; and
WHEREAS, this
review has disclosed a need for greater supervisory and managerial
accountability, a Statewide information system to monitor sick leave
injury usage, loss control efforts and employee health, safety and
accident prevention programs; and
WHEREAS, this
review has also shown that improvements in the sick leave injury
program can result in Statewide significant reductions in sick leave
injury usage and costs; and
WHEREAS, the
Commissioner of Personnel has instituted a pilot program to review
the current Statewide sick leave injury program to develop methods
for reducing costs and expediting benefits where appropriate.
NOW, THEREFORE,
I, JAMES J. FLORIO, Governor of the State of New Jersey, by virtue
of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and by the Statutes
of this State, do hereby Order and Direct:
1. The Commissioner
of Personnel shall establish a new pilot program which shall incorporate
all of the areas under review in the current sick leave injury
pilot program and shall also include:
a. a review
of the State employee workers' compensation and temporary disability
insurance programs and appropriate consolidation in these areas;
and
b. a structural
and operational analysis to determine the administrative functions
of the State sick leave injury program and the appropriate agency
to which responsibility for the program should be assigned.
2. The Commissioner
of Personnel shall establish a Task Force, which he or a designee
shall chair, to be comprised of the State Treasurer or a designee,
the Commissioners of Transportation, Labor, Human Services and
Corrections, or their designees, and other individuals deemed
appropriate by the Commissioner of Personnel. The Task Force shall
review and evaluate the current sick leave injury program and
make recommendations regarding its future to the Commissioner
of Personnel.
3. After
reviewing Task Force recommendations, the Commissioner of Personnel
shall prepare and implement:
a. a Statewide
policy for a comprehensive disability management program focusing
on insuring the general health and safety of the State's work
force;
b. a data
base for employee sick leave injury and disability leave usage;
c. standard
reporting, operating and auditing procedures for employee sick
leave injury and disability leaves and workers' compensation;
d. control
processes to reduce overtime and productivity losses;
e. health,
safety, training and accident prevention programs; and
f. coordination
of standard medical review procedures for handling claims and
sharing of medical facilities among agencies.
4. The Commissioner
of Personnel shall implement this Executive Order and each department,
office, division or agency of the State is authorized and directed,
to the extent not inconsistent with law, to cooperate with the
Commissioner of Personnel and to make available to him such information,
personnel and assistance as necessary to accomplish the purposes
of this Order.
5. This
Order shall take effect immediately.
GIVEN,
under my hand and seal
this 17th day of October in the
Year of Our Lord, one thousand
nine hundred and ninety, and of the
Independence of the United States,
the two hundred and fifteenth.
/s/
James J. Florio
GOVERNOR
Attest:
/s/ Andrew
Weber
Chief Counsel to the Governor
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