What is the New Jersey Paid Sick Leave Law?
The New Jersey Paid Sick Leave Law is a law that guarantees paid sick time for employees. As an employee of the College of New Jersey, you will be eligible to accrue and use up to 40 hours of earned sick leave per year.
What is sick leave?
Sick leave enables you to take time off from work and to be paid by the College for the period you are not working.
What are the reasons that allow me to use sick leave?
You may use sick leave for the following reasons:
- Your own sickness, such as time needed for the diagnosis, care, or treatment of, or recovery from your own mental or physical illness or injury, including preventive care
- A family member’s sickness, such as time needed to aid or care for a family member during diagnosis, care, treatment of, or recovery from, the family member’s mental or physical illness, including preventive care
- Domestic or sexual violence incidents, such as absences due to circumstances resulting from you or a family member being a victim of domestic or sexual violence, or for you or family member to obtain medical, legal, or other victim services relating to a domestic or sexual violence incident
- Your child’s school needs, such as attending a school-related conference, meeting, function, or other event requested or required by the school, or to attend a meeting regarding care provided to your child or regarding your child’s health
- School and work closures, such as when you are not able to work because of a closure of the College of New Jersey, or the school or place of care of your child, 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 a presence in the community would jeopardize the health of others
Who is considered a family member?
The law recognizes the following individuals as “family members:”
- Child (biological, adopted, or foster child; stepchild; legal ward; child of a domestic partner or civil union partner)
- Grandchild
- Sibling
- Spouse
- Domestic partner or civil union partner
- Parent
- Grandparent
- Spouse, domestic partner, or civil union partner of an employee’s parent or grandparent
- Sibling of an employee’s spouse, domestic partner, or civil union partner
- Any other individual related by blood to the employee
- Any individual whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of family
When am I eligible for paid sick leave?
You will be eligible for paid sick leave once you have accrued sick leave. You will accrue one hour of sick leave for each 30 hours you work, up to a maximum of 40 hours of sick leave per calendar year.
Is there a waiting period before I am able to use sick leave?
Yes, you are required to satisfy a 120 day waiting period prior to using sick leave.
How much sick leave will I be given?
You will accrue one hour of sick leave for each 30 hours of work, to a maximum of 40 hours of leave per calendar year.
What happens if I don’t use my sick time during the calendar year?
If you do not use sick time during the year, up to 40 hours of accrued time will carry over to the following calendar year.