The City of Newark followed Jersey City’s lead as it
passed an ordinance mandating certain employers to provide paid sick leave to
its employees. The Sick Leave for
Private Employees ordinance requires all private Newark businesses to provide
paid sick leave to their employees who work at least 80 hours per year in
Newark.
Under the ordinance, employers with 10 or more employees
are required to provide at least 40 hours of paid sick leave per year to their
employees. Employers with fewer than 10
employees are required to provide at least 24 hours of paid sick leave per
year. Employees who are child care
workers, home health workers, and food service workers are permitted to accrue
up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year, even if the employer has fewer than
10 employees.
Newark employees earn one hour of sick time for every 30
hours worked, up to 40 hours per year.
Employees begin accruing sick time upon their first day of employment,
but employers are not required to provide sick leave until the employee has
worked for 90 days.
The ordinance provides that employees may use paid sick
time for their own or their family member’s illness. Employers have the option of determining
whether paid sick time may be used in increments of less than one day. Employers are required to provide written,
individual notice to their employees about their rights, and they also must
display a poster containing notice of the ordinance.
The ordinance goes into effect on May 29, 2014. Please feel free to contact Connell Foley’s
employment law attorneys for guidance on implementing Newark’s paid sick leave
ordinance or any other leave issue you may be facing.
