Elizabeth, New Jersey, Passes Paid Sick Leave Law: Employment Law Manual, Quick Reference Charts Updated

Authors: Melissa Burdorf, Marta Moakley and Melissa Silver, XpertHR Legal Editors

Elizabeth, New Jersey, has enacted a paid sick leave law that will take effect March 2, 2016. The new law requires a private employer with 10 or more employees to provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year. An employer with fewer than 10 employees must provide up to 24 hours of paid sick time. Child care, home health care and food service workers are eligible for up to 40 hours of paid sick time per year, regardless of the employer's size.

In order to be eligible for sick leave, an employee must work at least 80 hours a year in Elizabeth. Eligible employees will earn one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Leave may be taken for the following reasons:

• The employee's or a family member's illness;
• Closure of the employee's workplace or a child's school or day care due to a public health emergency; and
• To care for a family member whose presence in the community would jeopardize others' health because of his or her exposure to a communicable disease.

An employer will be required to provide a written notice of rights to new hires and to conspicuously display a poster in all workplaces.

In light of this development, the following New Jersey sections of the Employment Law Manual have been updated:

• Other Leaves;
• FMLA;
• New Hire Paperwork;
• Employee Communications; and
• Employee Discipline.

The following Quick Reference charts have also been revised:

• Paid Sick Leave by State and Municipality; and
• Leave Laws by State.

Finally, a Legal Timetable entry has been added.