For New Jersey employers (or PA, NY or other employers who have employees who work in NJ), the NJ Earned Sick Leave Law went into effect Monday, October 29, 2018. Below is a link to a very comprehensive list of FAQs on the law, but here are some highlights:
- There is no minimum number of employees that an employer must have to fall under the law.
- Full-time, part-time, and seasonal employees accrue 40 hours of sick leave in a benefit year. The benefit year can be calendar-year or some other set 12-month period, but it must be the same for all employees.
- Accrual of sick leave is 1 hour for every 30 hours worked, and the 30 hours can be worked over multiple workweeks (ex. a part-time employee who works 15 hours a week accrues 1 hour of sick leave after 2 weeks of work).
- Employers must allow carryover of up to 40 hours of sick leave to the next benefit year. However, employers are not required to allow employees to use more than 40 hours total in a benefit year.
- Employers are not required to pay out accrued but unused sick leave.
- A PTO policy that meets or exceeds the requirements of the NJ Earned Sick Leave Law will be compliant with the law. An employer is not required to provide their existing PTO plus the 40 hours provided under the NJ Sick Leave Law.
https://nj.gov/labor/forms_pdfs/lwdhome/Legal/earnedsickleave.pdf
For more information regarding the new NJ Sick Leave Law or any other compliance questions, please contact our compliance department here.
