Risk & Business Magazine JGS Insurance Magazine Winter 2018 | Page 28

PAID SICK LEAVE ACT NEW JERSEY PAID SICK LEAVE ACT O n May 2, 2018, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law the New Jersey Paid Sick Leave Act, which took effect on October 29, 2018. The Act applies to nearly all employers and employees and guarantees that almost every person employed in New Jersey will accrue paid sick leave. Here are some the basics of this new law: AFFECTED EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES The Act applies to any person or entity having employees in the State of New Jersey, regardless of the employer’s size. The terms “employer” and “employee” are defined broadly to include all employers 28 and employees, with limited exceptions. SICK LEAVE ACCRUAL Employers have two options: • • the accrual method, under which employees earn sick leave at a rate of one hour per every 30 hours worked; or, the annual method (aka frontload), where the employee receives the entire 40 hours of sick leave on the first day of each benefit year. Under either method, employers are under no obligation to allow an employee to accrue, use, or carry forward more than 40 hours of earned sick leave. At the end of a benefit year, an employee may carry forward their earned sick time or have it purchased by the employer. Employers should note that the provisions governing the employer’s payment (or buy back) of employee earned sick time versus an employee’s carryover of sick time from one benefit year to the next are confusing and depend on which method (accrual versus frontload) the employer chooses to implement for its employees. NOTICES, DOCUMENTATION AND RECORDKEEPING Employers may require that employees provide up to seven days advance notice of the need to use earned sick leave, where reasonably foreseeable. Employers may prohibit employees from exercising