Learn key insights into the NJ Earned Sick Leave Law, including employer responsibilities, compliance tips, and how to avoid penalties.
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The New Jersey Earned Sick Leave Law was signed into law in 2018 and is widely considered to be a significant step forward for employee rights.
The law requires you, as a stand-up New Jersey employer, to provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave each year to the majority of your employees.
The law lets employees take time off for mental or physical illness, to care for family, or for other specified reasons. As an employer under the NJ Law, you're responsible for tracking and documenting your employees' accrual of sick days and their usage.
Understanding the NJ Sick Leave Law is crucial to maintaining legal compliance, fostering a healthy workplace, and supporting employee wellbeing to boot. Not to mention, non-compliance can lead to fines, legal action, and damage to your company's reputation.
Luckily, knowledge is power!
The New Jersey Sick Leave Law covers most employees working in the state of New Jersey. This includes full-time, part-time, temporary, and seasonal workers. Exemptions include independent contractors, construction workers under a collective bargaining agreement, and some per diem healthcare employees. As an employer, you're responsible for determining employee eligibility based on employment status and job functions.
Under the Sick Leave Law, employees accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours they work, up to a maximum of 40 hours annually. Alternatively, you can choose to provide the full 40 hours at the beginning of each year. Employees can use their earned sick leave for their own health needs, to care for a family member, for issues related to domestic or sexual violence, public health emergencies, or school-related events.
If the need for sick leave is foreseeable, employees must provide advance notice—typically up to seven days. For unforeseeable absences, employees must notify you as soon as possible according to your company's established policies. For absences longer than 3 days, you might require reasonable documentation. This could include a doctor's note, medical records, or other relevant documents. That being said, this requirement should indeed be reasonable and should align with both the law and your company's policies.
Employees can carry over up to 40 hours of unused sick leave to the following year. That being said, you're not required to let employees use more than 40 hours in a given year. Alternatively, you might offer to pay out unused sick leave at the end of the benefit year instead of dealing with carryover. If you choose this payout option, your employees can either accept or opt to carry over their unused leave instead.
In the spirit of adherence, compliance, and employee care, NJ employers must provide written notice of employees' rights under the law. Additionally, you are required to display a poster outlining these rights in a visible location.
Under the NJ Sick Leave Law, you must also keep accurate employee records of hours worked and sick leave accrued and used—for at least five years.
These records must be available for inspection by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development upon request. Failure to maintain accurate records could result in hefty fines and penalties.
Non-compliance with the New Jersey Earned Sick Leave Law can lead to significant penalties, including fines, back pay, and possible legal action. Corrective actions can even involve changes to your policies and mandatory employee training on sick leave rights.
You can face civil penalties of up to $250 for a first violation and up to $500 for subsequent violations, plus administrative fees.
Additionally, employees who wrongfully deny their earned sick leave or are punished for using it can file complaints with the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. They, in turn, can conduct audits of your records, which can lead to penalties and corrective actions if you're found non-compliant.
This, in turn, can lead to further legal costs and potential reputational damage—which nobody wants. Persistent non-compliance may also result in increased scrutiny from regulatory authorities and, wait for it…more financial liability.
Note: what follows is not legal advice but rather suggestions for how to stay compliant with the New Jersey Earned Sick Leave Law when creating your policies.
Recap: the NJ Earned Sick Leave Law requires New Jersey employers to provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave annually. It also requires you to maintain accurate records of sick leave accrual and usage, provide written notice to employees, and comply with enforcement measures to avoid stiff penalties.
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