First and foremost – A Reminder to NJ Employees: Sick Leave is Required by Law!

The spread of COVID-19 is leaving workers in the U.S. scrambling to figure out what happens to their jobs and their pay if it prevents them from reporting to work.

With the unfortunate effects of this pandemic continuing to evolve and the number of cases continuing to rise, fortunately, New Jersey is one of 12 states plus Washington D.C. to guarantee access to earned sick leave, ensuring workers do not lose pay if they call out sick. Of these states, New Jersey is among the few that includes coverage for public health emergencies. All businesses must provide paid leave to employees, with a few exceptions including independent contractors and per diem health workers. Here’s a brief review of New Jersey’s current law on sick leave.

After years of effort, in 2018 a statewide earned sick-leave law was passed in New Jersey. This means that all employers in New Jersey now have to comply with The New Jersey Paid Sick Leave Act (NJPSLA) which states that all qualified employees are required to accrue time that they eventually can use to stay home when they get sick, care for an ailing family member, attend a child’s school-related meeting and more.

Specifically, under the law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy, employers must provide up to 40 hours of earned sick leave per year. Full- and part-time employees accumulate paid time off at a rate of one hour of earned sick time for every 30 hours worked, or the employer can advance its employees earned sick leave at the beginning of the benefit year. Read more about the details from our previous blog NJ Paid Sick Leave Law Goes Into Effect. 

Additionally, here are some of the top questions being asked about paid sick leave during the coronavirus crisis. 

• Can I take time off if I get sick with coronavirus?

Yes – Sick day pay can be distributed two ways: accrued over time at 1 hour of earned sick leave for every 30 hours worked or advancing the 40 hours at the beginning of a benefit year. Unused sick time can be carried over to the next year, or an employer can choose to pay out those hours.

• Can I take time off to care for a family member with coronavirus?

Yes – according to the requirements, time needed for the employee to aid or care for a family member of the employee during diagnosis, care or treatment of, or recovery from, the family member’s mental or physical illness, injury, or other adverse health conduction, or during preventative medical care for the family member.

• Can I take time off if my child’s school is closed?

Yes – If a child’s school is closed, which all tri-state schools are right now, because of a public health emergency, such as the coronavirus, and an employee needs to stay home to care for the child, that’s covered.

• What if I run out of sick time?

While 40 hours of earned sick time a year might be sufficient in ordinary situations, it’s simple math that a 14-day quarantine for coronavirus exceeds New Jersey’s earned sick-leave law’s provision. What then? For some people, their employer’s policies may offer generous leave, but according to the state Department of Labor, there are some other possible programs to consider, many of which provide benefits based on the worker’s rate of pay.

• Can I stay home if I’m worried about catching Covid-19 from coworkers?

While we’re hoping the majority of companies have moved to remote working if possible, we know that’s not possible for everyone. In this situation you can use accrued Earned Sick Leave: The Earned Sick Leave law states, in part: “Time during which the employee is not able to work because of a closure of the employee’s workplace, or the school or place of care of a child of the employee, by order of a public official due to an epidemic or other public health emergency, or because of the issuance by a public health authority of a determination that the presence in the community of the employee, or a member of the employee’s family in need of care by the employee, would jeopardize the health of others.”

The NJ.gov has a good chart with information around different scenarios which you may be facing and the benefits available. 

The McHattie Law Firm continues to follow COVID-19 developments as they impact the workplace and will provide frequent updates on those developments. For assistance addressing issues in your workplace, feel free to contact us. 

This blog is for informational purposes only.  It does not constitute legal advice and may not be relied upon as such.  If you face a legal issue, you should consult a qualified attorney for independent legal advice with regard to your particular set of facts.  This blog may constitute attorney advertising.  This blog is not intended to communicate with anyone in a state or other jurisdiction where such a blog may fail to comply with all laws and ethical rules of that state of jurisdiction.