Oct 22, 2018 General Employment Issues

New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development Publishes Earned Sick Leave Notice

The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (“LWD”) has published its Notice of Employee Rights regarding the New Jersey Earned Sick Leave Law. This is a new law which takes effect on October 29, 2018. (See New Jersey Passes Statewide Earned Sick Leave Act.) The LWD’s notice is available on its website, at: https://nj.gov/labor/forms_pdfs/mw565sickleaveposter.pdf.

Covered New Jersey employers must:

  • Post this notice in a conspicuous and accessible place at all work sites by October 29, 2018.
  • Provide a copy of this notice to all new employees at the time of hire, starting on October 29, 2018.
  • Ensure that all current employees have received a copy of this notice by November 29, 2018.
  • Provide a copy of this notice to any employee upon the employee’s request.

This notice must be provided to employees in English, Spanish or any other language which is the first language of a majority of the employer’s workforce, and for which the LWD has published the notice. (Translated notices are available at: https://nj.gov/labor/ea/help/employer_handbook/forms.shtml)

Before an employer posts and distributes this notice, it will need to insert information in the notice which identifies the twelve-month period that the employer has selected for its benefit year (i.e., the twelve-month period in which an employee accrues and uses sick leave under this new law). Employers may choose the calendar year (i.e., January 1 – December 31), or another consecutive twelve-month period. However, once the starting date of the benefit year is established by the employer, the benefit year cannot be changed unless the employer notifies the LWD of the change, and follows a specific procedure. (The specific requirements for this process will be set forth in regulations, which are expected to be finalized in early 2019.)

Please do not hesitate to contact any of our attorneys if you have any questions regarding this notice requirement or the steps that your company must take generally to comply with this new law.