One measure would force companies with more than 1,000 employees to spend at least $4.17 per hour for their workers' health care. Companies that fall short would have to pay into a state fund that provides health coverage for the poor.
Another bill would require the state to track companies whose workers use FamilyCare, a state health insurance plan meant for the poor. Democrats and employee union leaders said big companies are forcing workers into the taxpayer-funded program by offering health insurance that is either limited or too expensive.
"The taxpayers of the state of New Jersey should no longer bear the burden of funding health care for corporations that are making hundreds of millions of dollars in the state," said Sen. Stephen M. Sweeney, D-West Deptford.
Business advocates, however, said forcing health-care costs up is effectively a new tax that will hurt business.
"This bill sends an anti-business message to companies across the country," said Jeanette Issenman of the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey.
The bill requiring health-care spending is similar to measures that unions have pushed in more than 30 other states. It was discussed by a Senate committee Monday, but no formal action was taken.
"Every one of our state residents deserves equal access to the finest health-care available," said Sen. Joseph F. Vitale, D-Woodbridge, one of the bill's sponsors.
There are 340 companies in New Jersey with 1,000 or more employees, according to the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Wal-Mart, with about 12,274 workers, according to the latest state figures, is one of the state's largest employers.
Wal-Mart spokeswoman Kelly Hobbs called the bill "an arbitrary mandate on large employers," adding that many people, not just Wal-Mart workers, are uninsured.
Several business advocates pointed to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation study that said the average health-care plan for one person costs companies about $4,000 a year. Those companies would have to pay more than $7,500 a year for employees who work 35 hours a week, however, under the health-care bill.
"This legislation, in effect, would create a new tax," said Christine Stearns, vice president of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association.
A recent study by liberal think-tank New Jersey Policy Perspective said many workers at large companies rely on FamilyCare for health insurance. A bill sponsored by Sen. Barbara Buono, D-Metuchen, would require the state to list those companies. That measure advanced out of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee.
"(FamilyCare) was never intended to be exploited by some of the largest and most profitable retailers," Buono said.
