Department of Labor and Workforce Development | Earned Sick Leave Is the Law in New Jersey

You accrue 1 hour of earned sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 40 hours of leave per benefit year. For example, if you work 40 hours a week, you will earn 5.33 hours of earned sick leave in 4 weeks. Alternatively, your employer can provide you with 40 hours of earned sick leave up front. “Benefit year” means any regular and consecutive 12-month period of time determined by your employer. The Notice of Employee Rights must state the benefit year.

With your employer’s consent, you can work additional hours to make up for hours of work missed rather than use earned sick leave. However, your employer cannot require this, or require you to use earned sick leave.Your employer cannot require you to search for or find a replacement worker to cover the hours during which you will use earned sick leave, as a condition of using the leave. Keep a copy of all documents that show your amount of earned sick leave accrual and use.