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Summary of differences between federal and state regulations
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act does not require payment for time not worked, nor does it regulate vacation pay, holiday pay, or other paid time off. These types of benefits are generally a matter of agreement between an employer and an employee (or the employee’s representative). Employers, however, do need to comply with applicable state laws.
Jury duty
New Jersey law requires public sector employees to be paid for jury duty, minus any deduction for payment made by the court for jury duty.
New Jersey law does not require private sector employers to pay workers for time spend on jury duty.
Paid Family Leave (Family Leave Insurance - FLI)
All New Jersey employees are able to have payroll deductions made so they can take paid time off. The law applies to all private and governmental employers subject to the unemployment compensation law.
Unlike federal FMLA or NJFMLA, Paid Family Leave is not designed to provide job-protected time off, but rather to provide some income while taking time off. Like other income-replacement programs, employees must apply for benefits.
There is no employer contribution to the program. Employers withhold a percent of employee taxable wages. The wages, deductions, and payments are submitted to the state.
Employers can chose to provide self-coverage or arrange to have employees covered by a private insurance carrier. These alternatives require prior approval by the Division of Temporary Disability Insurance.
Employee eligibility
Employees who have worked at least 20 calendar weeks where they earned a minimum amount per week before leave is to begin are eligible for the benefit.
Leave entitlement
Employees may apply for and take up to 12 weeks of FLI leave, or 56 days on an intermittent basis.
Eligible applicants who are covered by the state FLI plan will receive weekly benefits of 2/3 an employee’s weekly pay, to a maximum of 53 percent of the state average wage.
Reasons for leave
Leave may be taken to provide care for a sick family member or to care for a newborn or newly adopted or foster-placed child, or for domestic/sexual violence. Leave may also be taken for the employee’s or a family member’s quarantine or isolation in relation to an epidemic of a communicable disease.
Family members include spouses, civil union partners, domestic partners, parents, children, siblings, parents-in-law, grandparents, grandchildren, or any other blood relative, as well as anyone the employee shows to have a close association the equivalent of a family relationship. Parents include those that are biological, foster, adoptive, step, or legal guardians. Children include those that are biological, adopted, foster, step, legal ward, children of a domestic partner or civil union partner.
Employees may take family leave for reasons related to domestic or sexual violence regarding an employee or family member victim.
The definition of care and a serious health condition are similar to those of federal FMLA. Leave may be taken intermittently when the employer agrees.
Job restoration
The FLI does not specifically require employers to restore employees to their positions upon the end of leave, but employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees for taking FLI leave. The federal and New Jersey family and medical leave laws do specifically require reinstatement.
Notice
Employees must provide advanced notice of at least 15 days when leave is taken to care for a sick family member. They must provide 30 days’ prior notice to care for the other reasons, including to bond with a child.
Employers may require medical certification. Employers are required to post a notice, provide employees with a copy, and provide a copy to a new employee upon hiring. Employers must also provide written notice whenever an employee notifies the employer of the need for leave.
Paid sick leave
Effective October 29, 2018, private employers with employees working in the state need to provide employees with accrued paid sick leave. The law applies to all employees, except those in the construction industry working under a collective bargaining agreement and per diem healthcare employees.
Employees who work in the state may accrue one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked. They may accrue and use the up to 40 hours of leave in a period of 12 consecutive months established by the employer. Employers may front-load the leave at the beginning of the year. Employers may limit accrual and carry over to 40 hours of paid sick leave.
Current employees began accruing leave as of October 29, 2018, and could begin using the accrued leave 120 calendar days later. Employees hired after October 29 began accruing leave when they began working for the company and could use it as soon as it is accrued.
If employers already provided paid sick leave that meets the law’s provisions, they need not provide more.
Employees may use the paid sick leave for the following reasons:
- For diagnosis, care, treatment, or recovery from an employee’s mental or physical illness, injury or other adverse health condition, or for preventive medical care;
- For the employee to care for a family member during diagnosis, care, treatment, or recovery from, the family member’s mental or physical illness, injury or other adverse health condition, or preventive medical care;
- Due to circumstances resulting from the employee or a family member being a victim of domestic or sexual violence, including obtaining medical attention, services from a victim services organization, psychological or other counseling, relocation, or legal services;
- When the employee is unable to work because of a closure of the employee’s workplace or his or her child’s school or place of care due to a public health emergency, or if the employee’s or a family member’s presence in the community of the employee would jeopardize the health of others; or
- In relation to an employee’s child, to attend a school conference, meeting, function, or other event requested or required by the school, or to attend a meeting regarding a child’s care in connection with the child’s health condition or disability.
Family members include children, grandchildren, siblings, spouses, domestic partners, civil union partners, parents, or grandparents, spouses of parents or grandparents, brother- or sister-in laws, or anyone else related to an employee by blood or close associate equivalent to a family relationship.
If an employee’s need for leave is foreseeable, employers may require up to seven days’ advance notice of the intention to use the leave and its expected duration. Employees must make a reasonable effort to schedule the leave in a manner that does not unduly disrupt the employer’s operations. If the reason for the leave is not foreseeable, employers may require employees to give notice of the intention as soon as practicable, if the employee has been notified of this requirement.
Employers may prohibit employees from using foreseeable earned sick leave on certain dates, and require reasonable documentation if unforeseeable leave is used during those dates. They may also require reasonable documentation supporting the leave if the leave is for three or more consecutive days. This documentation should be completed by a health care provider and indicate the need for the leave and, if possible, number of days of leave. For domestic/sexual violence, other documentation is acceptable.
In lieu of carrying over leave, employers may offer that an employee be paid for unused leave in the final month of the employer’s benefit year. The employee has 10 calendar days to choose to accept the payment. The employee must choose a payment for the full amount of leave or for 50 percent of the amount of leave (the other 50 percent carries over).
Employers must post a notice of the employee rights, including the amount of earned sick leave to which they are entitled, the terms of its use, and applicable remedies. They must also provide each employee with a written copy upon hire and when an employee first requests leave.
Employees are to be paid at the same rate they normally earn.
Paid time off (PTO)
New Jersey law does not require vacation pay. However, if an employer chooses to provide paid time off benefits, it must follow the terms and conditions established in its policy.
Security and Financial Empowerment (SAFE) Act
Employers with 25 or more employees for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year must allow eligible employees time off if the employee or a family member is a victim of domestic or sexual violence.
Employees are eligible for leave under the SAFE Act if they have been employed for at least 12 months and worked at least 1,000 hours in the preceding 12 months. Eligible employees are entitled to take up to 20 days of leave within a 12-month period beginning when an employee first takes leave.
Eligible employees may take leave under the SAFE Act for the following reasons:
- To seek medical attention for, or recover from, physical or psychological injuries caused by domestic or sexual violence to the employee or the employee’s child, parent, parent in-law, spouse, domestic partner, or civil union partner, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, any other blood relative, or any individual the employee shows to have a close association with equivalent to a family relationship;
- To obtain services from a victim services organization;
- To obtain counseling;
- To participate in safety planning, temporarily or permanently relocate, or take other safety actions;
- To seek legal assistance or remedies to ensure health and safety; or
- To attend, participate in, or prepare for criminal or civil court proceedings.
Employees may elect to substitute accrued paid leave, or an employer may require such a substitution. Employees taking SAFE leave are eligible for income benefits from the state, similar to that under NJFLI leave.
If the need for leave is foreseeable, employees are to give advance written notice of the need for leave.
Employers may require that employees provide documentation supporting the domestic violence or sexually violent offense on which the leave is based. Sufficient documentation includes one or more of the following:
- A domestic violence restraining order or other documentation of equitable relief issued by a court of competent jurisdiction;
- A letter or other written documentation from the county or municipal prosecutor documenting the domestic violence or sexually violent offense;
- Documentation of the conviction of a person for the domestic violence or sexually violent offense;
- Medical documentation of the domestic violence or sexually violent offense;
- Certification from a certified domestic violence specialist or the director of a designated domestic violence agency or rape crisis center that the employee or family member is a victim; or
- Other documentation or certification of the domestic violence or sexually violent offense provided by a social worker, member of the clergy, shelter worker, or other professional who has assisted the employee or family member in dealing with the domestic violence or sexually violent offenses.
Employers are to post a notice of the rights and obligations of the law.
Volunteer Emergency Responders Employment Protection Act
All New Jersey employers are prohibited from terminating, dismissing, or suspending an employee who fails to report to work because he or she served as a volunteer emergency responder during a state of emergency or is actively engaged in responding to an emergency alarm.
Such time off need not be paid; however, employees may substitute earned vacation or sick days, if available.
Employees must provide notice at least one hour before their scheduled work reporting time that they are rendering emergency services.
Upon return to work, the employee is to provide a copy of the incident report and a certification by the incident commander or other official or officer in charge affirming that the employee was actively engaged in emergency services. This should also include the date and time the employee was relieved from emergency duty.
If the employee is absent for more than one work day, the employer is to be given notice each day of the absence.
These provisions need not apply to “essential” employees. These are generally employees that need to report to or stay at work to continue company operations during emergencies.
Voting
New Jersey doesn’t have a time-off-for-voting provision.
State
Contacts
New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development
Regulations
None. See http://lwd.dol.state.nj.us/labor/wagehour/content/wage_and_hour_compliance_faqs.html
NJ Statutes, Title 34: Labor and Workmen’s Compensation
https://lis.njleg.state.nj.us
Federal
Contacts
None.
Regulations
None.