Category: ESTA News

New Jersey’s paid family leave program is likely to expand to small businesses with 15 or more employees.

The New Jersey State Senate Budget Committee approved a bill expanding paid family leave on the 15th with a vote of 8 to 5, sending it to the plenary session.

Current state law requires businesses with 30 or more employees to guarantee the employment of employees who use paid family leave. The amendment, which passed a subcommittee on the same day, expands the obligation to guarantee employment underpaid family leave to businesses with 15 or more employees.

When the bill was introduced in February, it significantly expanded the scope of paid family leave to businesses with 5 or more employees, but later, through discussion, the scope was adjusted to cover businesses with 15 or more employees.

Paid family sick leave has been guaranteed in New Jersey since 2009. As of 2025, employees who earned at least $303 per week for 20 weeks or a total of $15,200 over the 12 months prior to the application date are eligible for up to 12 weeks of paid family sick leave. Recipients can receive 85% of their wages (up to $1,055 per week).

However, only businesses with 30 or more employees are required to guarantee employment for employees who use paid family sick leave, leading to ongoing criticism that employees at smaller businesses are reluctant to use the leave due to fear of losing their jobs. Supporters of the bill argue that “currently, 1.7 million workers in New Jersey are not eligible for paid family sick leave,” and that this needs improvement.

Opponents, including business groups, argue that expanding paid family sick leave to businesses with fewer than 30 employees will significantly impact small businesses.

With the holiday season approaching and a flurry of drinking parties and year-end events approaching, crackdowns on drunk driving, drug-impaired driving, and reckless driving are underway in Fairfax County, Northern Virginia, and throughout the Washington area.

The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Department announced earlier this month that it would “significantly strengthen enforcement of traffic violations such as drunk driving, drug-impaired driving, speeding, and reckless driving on major roads through the end of December to prevent year-end traffic accidents.”

The department plans to focus on accident prevention efforts by deploying additional officers on weekends and at night, particularly in areas where many drunk drivers are caught. In addition to Fairfax, police in Prince William, Arlington, and Loudoun counties in Northern Virginia, as well as Montgomery County in Maryland, have also reportedly launched or are planning to launch special year-end crackdowns.

To prevent drunk driving, police advise residents to:

▲never drive after drinking.

▲use designated drivers or public transportation like Uber or taxis; and

▲immediately report any suspected drunk driving to 911 or local police.

Areas with high drunk driving rates in Fairfax County include Beauregard Street on the Little River Turnpike, Carlin Springs Road in Leesburg, and the intersection of Patrick Henry Drive and Arlington Boulevard.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is investigating whether there’s a link between COVID-19 vaccines and deaths in adults, Bloomberg reported on the 9th.Bloomberg noted that the FDA has launched a broader investigation into the safety of COVID-19 vaccines.

While authorities have previously primarily investigated the vaccines’ effects on children, the agency has now expanded its investigation to include adults.

An FDA spokesperson said in a statement to Bloomberg that day, “We are conducting a thorough investigation of deaths potentially related to COVID-19 vaccines across multiple age groups.”

According to Bloomberg, Vinay Prasad, director of the FDA’s vaccine division, notified employees in an internal memo last month that stricter standards would be applied to vaccinations.

Twelve former heads of the FDA subsequently expressed concern in an article in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), a prominent medical journal, that the move “undermines the regulatory model designed to ensure vaccine safety, effectiveness, and availability.”

Previously, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. have questioned the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines, and he canceled hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for the development of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines, the technology behind Moderna and Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines.

vaccines are developed using mRNA, which contains the virus’s genetic information. While mRNA-based vaccines are difficult to develop, they have the advantage of being able to respond quickly to mutations by simply inserting the virus’s genetic information.

The Donald Trump administration launched a large-scale immigration crackdown on the 3rd in New Orleans, the largest city in the southern state of Louisiana and known as the “Home of Jazz.”

In a press release posted on its website that day, the Department of Homeland Security said, “Today, we launched a federal law enforcement operation in New Orleans,” adding, “The targets of the operation include violent criminals who were arrested and then released for charges such as home invasions, armed robberies, car thefts, and rapes.”

Authorities argued that the operation was being conducted because of local authorities’ “sanctuary policies” that “put undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes and released them, putting American communities at risk and putting law enforcement officers at risk.”

This appears to be a comment targeting the Democratic mayor of New Orleans. Mayor LaToya Cantrell, known for opposing the federal government’s immigration detention policy, urged residents last week to “remain calm and rely on reliable information,” Axios reported.

The Department of Homeland Security said, “It’s outrageous that we’re allowing these monsters to be released onto the streets of New Orleans to commit more crimes and cause more victims,” and claimed that “local authorities have ignored requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to arrest and detain them.” The statement also released the names, photos, and criminal charges of 10 people targeted by the raid, including those from Honduras, Vietnam, and Jordan, along with the description “some of the worst, worst criminal illegal aliens on the streets of Louisiana. ”

The day before, President Trump announced plans to deploy the National Guard to New Orleans, saying, “(Louisiana Governor Jeff) Landry asked for it. A great governor asked us to help New Orleans.” The Louisiana governor is a Republican. Bloomberg News noted that previous raids in Charlotte, North Carolina, and other cities have sparked controversy by detaining a significant number of immigrants without criminal records.

The deployment of agents to grocery store parking lots, commercial districts, and gathering places for day laborers has raised concerns about due process violations. New Orleans, with a population of approximately 384,000, is the latest Democratic-led city to be targeted by President Trump’s mass deportation policy, Reuters reported.

Residential electricity rates in Virginia are expected to rise for the second consecutive year starting next year, further increasing the burden on residents.

According to local media outlet ABC7 News, the Virginia Public Service Commission (SCC) recently partially approved a base rate increase proposed by electric utility Dominion Energy, allowing for two consecutive rate increases in 2026 and 2027. According to the SCC, the average residential electricity bill will increase by $11.24 per month in 2026 and $2.36 per month in 2027.

These increases will generate additional revenue for Dominion Energy of $565.7 million next year and $209.9 million in 2027.

The New York City Council is pushing forward with a measure to allow “open restaurants” to be open year-round, drawing attention to their future. Councilmember Lincoln Ressler introduced an ordinance (Int. 1421) with this content on the 9th of last month and entered the legislative process.

This ordinance includes a provision to remove the seasonal regulation that currently requires “Roadway Cafes,” which are outdoor restaurants installed along the road, to be removed every year during the four winter months from November 30th to March 31st of the following year.

The ordinance also includes a provision to allow “Grocery Stores” to apply for licenses to operate “Sidewalk Cafes.” Currently, only restaurants can apply for Sidewalk Cafe licenses.

Councilman Ressler said, “New York City Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani is a strong supporter of outdoor dining and will likely be more supportive of year-round operation than the Eric Adams administration,” and expressed his expectation that the ordinance will be passed early next year.

Meanwhile, New York City’s outdoor dining, which went into full effect in April of this year, is divided into Roadway Cafes, which are installed along the roadway, and Sidewalk Cafes, which are installed along the pedestrian road (sidewalk) in front of the restaurant.

Roadway Cafes can operate for eight months (10:00 a.m. to midnight) from April 1 to November 29 each year, while Sidewalk Cafes along the sidewalk can operate 24/7. The four-year license fee for an outdoor restaurant is $1,050 each, or $2,100 if applying for both a Roadway Cafe and a Sidewalk Cafe.

In addition, an ‘Annual Revocable Consent Fee’ that must be paid annually is differentially imposed depending on the area, such as Manhattan or Queens, and the size of the outdoor restaurant.

A crackdown on drunk driving will be conducted in New York and New Jersey during the Thanksgiving holiday.

According to New York State, simultaneous crackdowns on drunk driving and reckless driving will be conducted on local and interstate highways throughout New York City and the state until the 30th.While crackdowns on drunk driving, speeding, and reckless driving will be prioritized, enforcement will also include distracted driving, such as using a cell phone while driving, driving without a license, and violations of the “move-over” law, such as slowing down when encountering stopped vehicles.

Police plan to set up checkpoints and conduct undercover raids disguised as regular vehicles. New Jersey State Police will also crack down on drunk driving on all local roads, including highway exits, during this period. They will also set up checkpoints to identify and identify illegal drivers to prevent accidents.

A single-family home in Ashburn, Northern Virginia, has caught fire after a battery while charging suddenly burst into flames, causing over $1 million in damage.

According to the Loudoun County Fire Department, the fire broke out just before noon on the 15th in the 19000 block of Keephart Drive in Ashburn. Property damage was estimated at $1,252,152, and two people, including a firefighter, suffered minor injuries.

The cause of the fire is believed to have started with a lithium-ion battery while it was being charged, but details such as the battery’s purpose and capacity remain unknown.

Firefighters from Ashburn, Leesburg, Lansdowne, and other areas responded to the fire, but the intensity of the flames made it difficult to control.

Experts emphasize the importance of following safety guidelines, such as

▲using genuine batteries suitable for the device,

▲not leaving the device unattended while charging, and

▲not charging near flammable materials, as lithium-ion batteries pose a risk of fire or explosion if damaged or misused.

Postal rates are expected to rise again starting next January. According to the proposed rate increase submitted by the United States Postal Service (USPS) on the 14th, rates for Priority Mail, Priority Express Mail, and USPS Ground Advantage will increase by 6.6%, 5.1%, and 7.8%, respectively, starting January 18, 2026. The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) plans to review the increase this year and decide whether to give it final approval.

The USPS stated, “Inflation continues to burden our operating costs, and price adjustments are inevitable to achieve the ‘financial stability’ pursued by the USPS’s ‘Deliver for America’ 10-year plan.”

Meanwhile, the proposed rate increase does not include a postage stamp price increase.

The states of New York and New Jersey have begun distributing the November SNAP (food stamp) benefits. However, the Trump administration has abruptly ordered states to withdraw the payments after the Supreme Court suspended the effect of a lower court ruling ordering the USDA to pay the full SNAP program budget, causing chaos.

New York Governor Kathy Hokul announced on the 9th that SNAP benefits would begin to be distributed to New York recipients. The New Jersey state government also announced on the 7th that it had distributed the November benefits to SNAP recipients.

Accordingly, the November benefits have started being deposited into the debit cards (EBT) used to purchase groceries for SNAP program recipients in New York and New Jersey. However, late on the night of the 8th, the Trump administration abruptly applied the brakes, instructing each state that had begun distributing SNAP benefits, including New York and New Jersey, to “immediately reverse all actions taken to fully distribute SNAP benefits.” This created a situation where the state’s payment measures and the federal government’s suspension order conflicted.

On the 6th, the Rhode Island District Court ruled that the Trump administration must “disburse the full amount of SNAP benefits for November on the 7th,” and several states began taking administrative steps to deposit SNAP benefits into recipients’ debit cards starting on the 7th.However, the Trump administration appealed the initial trial’s decision to pay the full amount and filed an emergency appeal on the 7th. Late that night, the Supreme Court temporarily stayed the effect of the initial trial order until the appeals court decided.

Consequently, the Supreme Court’s decision temporarily allowed the Trump administration to withhold funds to the SNAP program while the lawsuit proceeds. Later that night, the USDA warned that “states that have paid the full amount of SNAP benefits for November are unauthorized and must be immediately revoked,” and that “states that do not comply will be subject to penalties.” However, the USDA’s guidance does not provide specific explanations on how to recover funds already paid to recipients, which has caused confusion.

The Massachusetts and Wisconsin governments are protesting the withdrawal directive, calling it “an attempt by the Trump administration to cut off food assistance that low-income families rely on.” Wisconsin has publicly declared that it will not follow the Trump administration’s new directive.

While the SNAP program is administered by states, benefits are paid for with federal funds. The key question is how the courts will rule on the conflict between states and the federal government over SNAP payments.