New Leave of Absence Obligations Arriving in Connecticut, New Jersey and Maryland

Author: Melissa Burdorf, XpertHR Legal Editor

September 20, 2013

Multistate employers and employers with employees in Connecticut, New Jersey or Maryland face new leave obligations starting October 1, 2013. While each of these state laws has its own standards regarding which employees are covered, which employers must comply and how they must comply, employers with employees in any or all of these states should:

  • Be aware of the requirements of the law(s);
  • Decide if all employees, regardless of state should be provided with the same leave rights and responsibilities (if an employer has employees in multiple states);
  • Post any required notices;
  • Review and revise any leave, antidiscrimination and/or payroll policies to ensure compliance with the law(s). This includes updating any employee handbooks or electronic policies;
  • Ensure proper practices are in place regarding evaluating, granting and denying leave requests;
  • Have proper systems to track concurrent leaves, where applicable;
  • Train appropriate employees involved in reviewing leave requests on the law's requirements;
  • Establish procedures to ensure any documents provided in connection with a leave request are kept confidential; and
  • Inform employees and new hires about the new law(s) and changes to any existing policies.

The following is a brief description of each new state leave:

Connecticut - Military Leave from Employment

Connecticut employers will be required to provide military leave protection to employees who perform military duties (such as attendance at meetings or drills) in Connecticut's armed forces, which include the organized militia, National Guard, naval militia and naval militia's Marine Corps branch. Current law only requires employers to provide a leave of absence to employees who are required to attend US reserves or National Guard meetings or drills during regular working hours.

Maryland - Deployment of Family Members in the Armed Forces

Maryland employers with 50 or more employees will need to provide eligible employees with a one-day leave of absence on the day that employee's immediate family member is leaving for or returning from active military duty outside of the US as a member of the US armed forces. Employees are eligiblefor this leave if they have worked for a covered employer on a full-time or part-time basis for at least 1,250 hours for the last 12 months. An employee's immediate family members include his or her spouse (including a same-sex spouse), parent, stepparent, child, stepchild or sibling. The immediate family member must be leaving for or returning from active duty outside of the US as a member of the US armed forces.

Maryland employers with 15 or more employees should also be aware that starting October 1, employers must offer reasonable accommodations to pregnant employees suffering from a temporary disability, even if providing the accommodation removes an essential function of the employee's job - a leave of absence can be considered a reasonable accommodation.

New Jersey Security and Financial Empowerment Act (NJ SAFE Act)

New Jersey employers with 25 or more employees must provide up to 20 days of unpaid leave to eligible employees who are domestic violence or sexual assault victims, or whose child, parent, spouse, domestic partner or civil union partner is a victim. The Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development released a form that employers must conspicuously post notifying employees of their rights and obligations under this law.