The paid sick leave momentum continues in the state of New Jersey. Two new municipal paid sick leave laws are anticipated to go into effect in early 2016. Both laws are expected to be similar to the other New Jersey municipalities’ paid sick leave laws.
New Brunswick
New Brunswick’s approved paid sick leave law is scheduled to go into effect tomorrow January 6, 2016. It will become the first New Jersey municipal sick leave law to also provide leave for reasons related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
Under the law, private employers with 10 or more employees are required to provide full-time employees with up to 40 hours of paid sick leave in a calendar year. Employers with 10 or more employees are required to provide part-time employees with up to 24 hours of paid sick leave in a calendar year. Employers with less than 10 employees are also required to provide employees with up to 24 hours of paid sick time in a calendar year.
Employees can begin to accrue sick time on the first day of employment or on the ordinance’s effective date for current employees. Unlike the other New Jersey municipal paid sick leave laws, New Brunswick’s law will permit employees to start using sick time 120 days after the effective date. Most paid sick leave policies allow employees to use the time beginning on the 90th calendar day of their employment.
Employees may use sick leave for:
- Physical illness, injury, health condition or preventative care, or that of their partner or family member;
- Care of a family member with a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition;
- Closure of their workplace or their child’s school or place of care by order of a public official due to a public health emergency; and
- Reasons related to domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.
If an employer has an established paid leave policy that provides an amount of paid leave sufficient to meet the total annual accrual requirements of the ordinance, he or she is not required to provide additional paid sick time. Employers that violate the provisions of the ordinance are subject to fines and to payment of restitution in the amount of any paid sick time unlawfully withheld.
Elizabeth
On November 3, 2015, voters in the city of Elizabeth approved the “Sick Leave for Private Employees” Ordinance. The law is scheduled to go into effect March 2, 2016. The City has yet to release a copy of the Ordinance; however, it will most likely reflect the already adopted paid sick leave policies across the state of New Jersey.
Make sure to visit our website soon for new updates on Elizabeth’s sick leave law and for the mandatory sick leave notices for each city. If you have any questions, please give us a call!