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Governor Phil Murphy • Lt. Governor Tahesha Way

My Work Rights

Earned Sick Leave Is the Law in New Jersey

Earned Sick graphic image

Employers of all sizes must provide full-time, part-time, and temporary employees with up to 40 hours of earned sick leave per year so they can care for themselves or a loved one.

This law applies to almost all employees in New Jersey.

Read the Earned Sick Leave law

Read the final Earned Sick Leave rules

Most New Jersey employees have the right to earned sick leave so they can:

  • get their COVID-19 vaccine, including for travel to and from their appointment and recovery from side effects.
  • quarantine based on the advice of a health care provider or public health authority (including the quarantine required when returning to New Jersey from certain states)
  • get tested for COVID-19
  • take care of their children when school or child care is closed due to an epidemic or public health emergency (including mandatory remote learning during COVID-19)
  • care for their own, or a loved one's, physical or mental health or injury, including COVID-19
  • address domestic or sexual violence against themselves or a loved one
  • attend a child’s school-related meeting, conference, or event

Note: If your employer has an existing sick leave policy allowing employees to use sick leave, it must meet or exceed the requirements of the law.

Your employer must pay you when you use any NJ Earned Sick Leave to which you are entitled. They are required to pay you in the same or next pay period, and the pay must come with your regular pay check or another method that can be deposited or cashed easily. 

Employers must provide earned sick leave to full- and part-time employees. Employers are not required to provide earned sick leave to the following employees:

  • individuals employed in the construction industry under a union contract
  • per diem health care employees
  • public employees who are provided with sick leave at full pay under any other NJ law or rule
  • independent contractors who do not meet the definition of an employee under NJ law

If you are a covered employee, your employer must give you written notice of your right to earned sick leave, linked below. You have a right to the notice in English, and if available, your primary language.

New Jersey Earned Sick Leave (MW-565)

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.

Your rate of pay for earned sick leave must be your regular hourly rate, but no less than the state minimum wage. If your pay fluctuates, you have two or more jobs for the same employer, you’re paid for piecework, or your pay includes gratuities, food, or lodging, your rate of pay for sick leave is calculated by adding together your total earnings, exclusive of overtime pay, for the seven most recent workdays. Divide that sum by the total hours of work during that seven-day period. If you’re paid by commission, whether base wage plus commission or commission only, your rate of earned sick leave pay is the hourly base wage or the state minimum wage, whichever is greater.

The law recognizes the following individuals as “family members” for the purposes of earned sick leave use:

  • 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
  • chosen family
  • any other individual related by blood to the employee
  • any individual whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of family

If you or a loved one experiences domestic or sexual violence, you can use earned sick leave to cope. Permitted uses as a victim/survivor or for supporting a victim/survivor include:

  • Seeking medical attention, therapy, counseling, victim advocacy, or legal services
  • Safety planning or escaping abuse, such as staying in a domestic violence shelter
  • Attending or preparing for court
  • Recovering at home

If your need for earned sick leave can be planned in advance, your employer can require up to seven days’ advance notice of your intention to use earned sick leave. If your need for earned sick leave cannot be planned in advance, your employer may require you to give notice as soon as it is practical.

Your employer can require reasonable documentation if you use earned sick leave on three or more consecutive workdays, or on certain dates specified by the employer.

You may carry over up to 40 hours of unused earned sick leave into the next benefit year. However, your employer is required only to let you use up to 40 hours of leave per benefit year. Alternatively, your employer can offer to pay you for your unused earned sick leave at the end of the benefit year.

Your employer cannot retaliate against you for requesting or using earned sick leave, filing a complaint with NJDOL, communicating with any person about a violation of the law, participating in an investigation regarding an alleged violation of the law, or informing another person of their potential rights under the law. Retaliation includes threat, discipline, discharge, demotion, suspension, or reduction in hours, or any other adverse action against you for exercising or attempting to exercise any right guaranteed under the law.

You may qualify for other benefits. Visit myleavebenefits.nj.gov to learn more.

As of October 2018, employers of all sizes must provide full-time, part-time, and temporary employees with up to 40 hours of earned sick leave per year so they can care for themselves or a loved one. A printable version of the information below is also available. For employees: English | Spanish/español. For employers: English.

See our memo to employers on the COVID-19 vaccine and NJ Earned Sick Leave.

Employers must provide earned sick leave to full- and part-time employees. Employers are not required to provide earned sick leave to the following workers:

  • individuals employed in the construction industry under a union contract
  • per diem health care employees
  • public employees who are provided with sick leave at full pay under any other NJ law or rule
  • independent contractors who do not meet the definition of an employee under NJ law

You must give each employee written notice of their right to earned sick leave, including accrual and use of sick leave, and the right to file a complaint and be free from retaliation. The notice must give the start and end dates of your benefit year. The notice is available in English and 12 other languages. Employees have a right to the notice in English, and, if available, their primary language.

New Jersey Earned Sick Leave (MW-565)

A benefit year is the period of 12 consecutive months established by an employer in which an employee shall accrue and use earned sick leave. This can be based on a calendar year for all employees or individually based upon an employee’s hire date.

To change the benefit year, you must provide notice in writing to the NJDOL Commissioner at least 30 calendar days prior to the proposed change.

Employees accrue 1 hour of earned sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 40 hours of leave per benefit year. An employee can work additional hours to compensate for work missed rather than use earned sick leave, with the employer’s consent. However, you cannot require this, or require an employee to use earned sick leave.

Instead of applying the accrual method described above, you may choose to advance employees with at least 40 hours of earned sick leave on the first day of the benefit year, for use throughout the benefit year. For an employee who begins employment during the benefit year, you may prorate advanced earned sick leave for the remainder of the benefit year, so long as you track the hours that the employee actually works and the amount of actual sick leave accrued. You will not have to track accruals if you advance the full 40 hours of earned sick leave.

  • If you transfer an employee within New Jersey, he or she keeps their accrued/advanced sick leave.
  • If you terminate, lay off or furlough an employee, then rehire or reinstate her/him in New Jersey within six months, the prior accrued/advanced sick leave must be returned to the employee.
  • If a successor employer takes the place of an existing employer, all employees of the predecessor employer keep their accrued/advanced sick leave from the predecessor employer.

During a period of earned sick leave, you must pay employees at the same rate the employee normally earns and, you must pay at least the state minimum wage. To calculate the rate of earned sick leave pay for an employee whose pay fluctuates, has two or more different jobs, is paid by piecework, or whose pay includes gratuities, food, or lodging, add together the total earnings, exclusive of overtime pay, for the seven most recent workdays, and divide that by the total hours of work during that seven-day period. For base plus commission or commission only, the earned sick leave pay rate is the hourly base wage or the state minimum wage, whichever is greater.

You must keep and maintain records for five years documenting compliance with the law, including employee hours worked, and earned sick leave that has been accrued/advanced, used, paid out, and carried over. Reasons for used earned sick leave must be kept confidential unless the employee gives written permission to disclose it. Records must be made available to NJDOL if requested.

If the need is foreseeable, you can require up to seven days’ advance notice of an employee’s intention to use earned sick leave. If the need is unforeseeable, you may require the employee to provide notice as soon as is practical, provided you have stated that requirement in advance. If you have not stated the notice requirement, you must allow the employee to use the unforeseeable earned sick leave without having provided any prior notice. An employer may prohibit the employee from using foreseeable earned sick leave during high-volume periods or special events, but you must provide reasonable notice of those dates.

You can require reasonable documentation if an employee uses more than three consecutive workdays as earned sick leave or where the employee’s need for earned sick leave is not foreseeable and is being sought for use during high-volume periods or special events. The law prohibits you from requiring the employee to specify the reason for earned sick leave.

An employee may carry over up to 40 hours of unused earned sick leave to the next benefit year. However, you are required only to let an employee use up to 40 hours of earned sick leave per benefit year. An employer may choose — but is not required — to pay an employee for unused earned sick leave at the end of the benefit year.

You cannot retaliate against an employee for requesting or using earned sick leave, filing a complaint with NJDOL, or because the employee informs any other person of his or her rights under the law. Retaliation includes any discipline, discharge, demotion, suspension, loss or reduction of pay, or any other adverse action. This includes “no fault” attendance policies, where an employee receives a point or a demerit for any absence, and is subjected to discipline or loss of a promotional opportunity.

If an employer allegedly has violated the law, NJDOL will notify the employer by certified mail and provide an opportunity to request a formal hearing. The request must be received within 15 days of receipt of the notice. If the dispute cannot be resolved in an informal settlement conference, it will be forwarded for a formal hearing.

  • By email: Send a message to wage.hour@dol.nj.gov
  • By phone: Call 609-292-2305 between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. TTY users can contact this department through NJ Relay: 7-1-1

You have the right to up to 40 hours of earned sick leave each year to care for yourself and your child. You can use your sick time if you need to care for your child during remote learning.

You have the right to up to 40 hours of earned sick leave each year to care for yourself and your child. You can use your sick time to attend school conferences and events, as well as meetings about your child’s health or disability.

Download an Earned Sick Leave handout for parents and guardians (English)

Descarga un volante sobre licencia pagada por enfermedad para padres y guardianes (en español)

 

 

Social media posts and images
Download our media kit (a Word document) which contains pre-written posts and optimized images to use on both Facebook and Twitter. It also has an image version of our printable Earned Sick Leave handout for parents and guardians (in both English and Spanish) that you can embed in a newsletter, e-newsletter, or email blast. Please be sure it’s large enough to be easily read. For printable handouts, see the next section.

Printable brochures and handouts
Printable handouts for working parents/guardians are available for download in English and Spanish/español.

 

woman sitting in her kitchen at a computer

Make a complaint

If you believe that your employer has not provided you sick leave that you're entitled to, or you have a question about your situation, NJDOL can help.

 

women talking in a library

Help us spread the word!

Download shareable information and social media blurbs and images to help let your coworkers, friends, and community organizations learn more about paid sick time.

  • Media kit for school communities and working parents/guardians (includes social media posts and images)
  • Printable handouts for working parents/guardians in English and Spanish/español
Printable information and handouts for employees and employers