This bill amends current law to allow full-time State employees to take additional administrative leave days for the observance of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. Specifically, it grants one extra day of administrative leave per calendar year for each holiday if the employee is absent from work to observe them. This addition is made to the existing provision that allows three working days of administrative leave for personal reasons, including religious observances, but does not allow for the accumulation of unused leave.
Furthermore, the bill mandates that public school students who are absent due to the observance of Eid al-Fitr or Eid al-Adha will have their absences recorded as excused. It ensures that these absences will not negatively impact the students' attendance records on transcripts or applications, and students will not lose eligibility for awards or the opportunity to take alternate tests due to these absences, provided they present a written excuse from a parent or guardian. The bill aims to recognize and accommodate the religious practices of Muslim students and employees in New Jersey.