Jersey City Passes Mandatory Employee Sick Leave Ordinance

Effective January 23, 2014, all private employers with employees working in Jersey City will be required to provide eligible employees with sick time off.

Employers with 10 or more employees will be required to provide paid sick leave, and employers with fewer than ten employees will be required to provide unpaid sick leave.

Eligible employees will accrue one (1) hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 40 hours in a 12-month period. Unused sick time is carried over to the next period.

Sick leave may be used for:

  • An employee’s own or a family member’s mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition;
  • An employee’s own or a family member’s need for medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition;
  • An employee’s own or a family member’s preventive medical care; and
  • Leave may also be taken for business and school closures due to a public health emergency.

Notice and Posting:

  • Employers must provide employees with a written notice of their rights under the city ordinance on the date the ordinance becomes effective or as soon as practicable, and to new employees at the commencement of employment;
  • Employers must display an official poster containing notice of the ordinance in a “conspicuous and accessible place” in each establishment where employees are employed; and
  • The poster must be in English and in another language if spoken by at least 10% of the employer’s workforce.

Employers are subject to fines for failing to give the required notice or post the official poster.

Employers will be able to order the official sick time poster from Compliance Poster Company prior to the ordinance effective date. Be the first to know when the poster releases. Sign up for our automatic labor law updates.