New Jersey: Final Regulations for Statewide Paid Sick Leave Now Available

Applies to:           All Employers with NJ Employees

Effective:             January 6, 2020

The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development recently released a 53-page document providing final regulations and enforcement guidance on the statewide Earned Sick Leave Law (ESLL).  The final regulations do not make any substantive changes to the ESLL, but rather provide responses and clarification to concerns expressed during the public comment period of the proposed regulations.

Two notable comments and DOLWD responses include the below clarifications:

• Clarified that if an employer provides a single PTO bank to cover the requirements of the ESLL, the entire time bank must comply with sick leave requirements (and be afforded the same protections of ESL time);
• Removed requirement to establish a single benefit year for all employees. Instead, the DOLWD indicated that a future revision will allow employers to define a benefit year based on an anniversary date, though the current requirements for employers to document and provide notice of any changes to the benefit year remain intact.

Many of the other comments and responses can also be found in the DOLWD’s previously issued Frequently Asked Questions.

Finally, the DOLWD intends to adopt additional regulations in the future.  The additional regulations will address eligibility of the ESLL to employees working in and out of New Jersey, pro-rating advanced ESL for employees who begin work in the middle of a benefit year or only work part-time, and a revision permitting employers to establish multiple benefit years, among other topics.

Action Items

1. Review the final regulations here.
2. Look for more news on additional regulations for the ESLL, and consult local legal counsel before making any changes to sick leave policies.
3. Subscribers can call our HR Hotline at (833) 268-5531 or send an email to hrsolved@onedigital.com for further assistance.