Jersey City, New Jersey, Expands Paid Sick Leave Law: Employment Law Manual, Quick Reference Charts Updated

Author: Melissa Burdorf, XpertHR Legal Editor

Jersey City, New Jersey, amended its Earned Sick Time Ordinance to require more employers to provide paid sick leave. Effective December 27, 2015, an employer with fewer than 10 employees must provide up to 24 hours of paid sick leave and 16 hours of unpaid sick leave per year. In addition, an employer of child care, home health care or food service workers must provide up to 40 hours of paid sick time, regardless of the employer's size. Currently, only employers with 10 or more employees must provide up to 40 hours of paid sick time per year, while employers with fewer than 10 employees are required to provide up to 40 hours of unpaid time.

Amendments to the Earned Sick Time Ordinance have also been made to the following provisions:

  • The definition of employee;
  • Coverage of employees covered under a collective bargaining agreement; and
  • Penalties for violating the Ordinance.

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

The following Quick Reference charts have also been revised:

Finally, a Legal Timetable entry has been added.