Sick leave

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On Wednesday, March 25, 2020, New Jersey Governor Murphy signed S2304, which amends the New Jersey Earned Sick Leave Law, the New Jersey Family Leave Act, and the New Jersey Temporary Disability Law. The changes are aimed at making job-protected leave and paid benefits available to more employees amid the current COVID-19 epidemic.

By way of background, in certain circumstances: the New Jersey Earned Sick Leave law requires employers to provide paid sick leave benefits; the New Jersey Family Leave Act requires certain employers to provide job-protected leaves of absence to eligible employees, including to care for a family member with a serious medical condition; and the Temporary Disability Law provides paid benefits to employees, including for their own non-work-related disabling condition or to care for a family member.
Continue Reading New Jersey amends family leave and benefits laws amid coronavirus concerns

Yesterday the Department of Labor (DOL) issued the required poster that employers subject the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (those with fewer than 500 employees) must place on their premises to satisfy the employees of rights requirement under the Act.

Since a vast majority of employees are now working remotely, the DOL has advised that employers may satisfy the standard notice requirement of hanging the poster in a conspicuous place on the employer’s premises (i.e., a kitchen, breakroom or other accessible area) by emailing, or directly mailing, the notice to employees, or by posting the notice on the employer’s internal or external website. Employers that are not fully remote must also post the notice. Similarly, employers who are currently all remote must remember to post the notice once in-office operations resume.Continue Reading DOL issues FFCRA notice poster

Updated on April 8, 2020

Since the effective date of this law, the New Jersey Department of Labor has issued regulations related to same.  The regulations make clear that even if an employee is on leave for a protected reason, the employee is not entitled to reinstatement if the employee’s position is eliminated during a…

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, yesterday, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law a bill providing job protection and benefits to certain employees quarantined due to COVID-19.

Principally, the legislation provides certain job protections to employees subject to a mandatory or precautionary order of quarantine or isolation issued by the state, the Department of Health, a local board of health, or any government entity authorized to issue a quarantine order. The protections vary based on employer size, as follows:
Continue Reading Big Apple employers: Governor Cuomo announces job protections and paid sick leave for New Yorkers quarantined due to COVID-19

While the New Jersey Legislature is considering legislation to address the employment consequences of COVID-19, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) has published a Q&A regarding COVID-19 and how it interacts with New Jersey’s current employment laws. 
Continue Reading NJ Department of Labor issues guidance on COVID-19

The afternoon of March 18, 2020, the Senate passed H.R. 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Division C of the Bill details the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act, and Division E provides additional protections under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act. Both divisions apply to employers with fewer than 500 employees.

At a high level, these laws work together so that, under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act, qualifying employees will receive 80 hours of paid leave for immediate use, then they will received paid leave at two-thirds of the employee’s wages for the duration of a COVID-19 related Family and Medical Leave Act leave.

Key provisions of both laws are described below.

Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (Effective 15 days after enactment)

This statute provides for additional benefits under the FMLA so that eligible employees will receive job protection and a paid component for certain COVID-19-related absences.

Which employers are covered? 

Employers with fewer than 500 employees are subject to the expansion. Part-time employees are included in this count to assess coverage.

The Secretary of Labor has authority “for good cause” to exempt (1) certain healthcare providers and emergency responders; and (2) small employers with fewer than 50 employees where the added expense would jeopardize the business. Under certain circumstances, the requirement to restore employees to their employment will not apply to businesses with fewer than 25 employees.

Additionally, an employer of employees who are healthcare providers or emergency responders may exclude these employees.

As a practical matter, larger employers that break up their workforce across smaller employing entities should review the respective employee populations for each entity to determine whether the expansion will apply to that population. In making this decision, consider what company is listed as the employer on an employee’s pay statement or review each Employer Identification Number separately.

Which employees are eligible?

Employees who have been employed for at least 30 calendar days will qualify for leave. Notably, the other FMLA employee eligibility requirements (e.g., hours worked) do not apply here.

Employers appear to have the discretion to exclude healthcare providers and emergency responders, though this language of the statute is in tension with the delegation of rulemaking authority to the Secretary of Labor to determine such exemptions.

What events will trigger coverage?

Employees who are unable to telework may use this leave if they must care for a child following the closure of a school or daycare, or other unavailability of childcare due to the coronavirus.

How does paid leave apply?

The first ten (10) days of FMLA leave may be unpaid (but see the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act provisions, below).  Employees may elect to use their accrued vacation, personal or sick leave to cover this window, but employers may not require it. After this initial period, the employer will be required to pay at least two-thirds of an employee’s regular wages, according to their normally scheduled hours.

Payment is capped at $200 per day and $10,000 total for the duration of the leave.

The statute provides a formula for calculating payments for employees with varying or irregular schedules.

The expansion allows for up to twelve (12) weeks of coverage for all eligible employees in addition to the initial 10-day supplement provided by the Act.Continue Reading What employers need to know about the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201)

On March 16, 2020, San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed announced a Workers and Families First Program to provide additional paid sick leave benefits for employees affected by COVID-19.  The plan includes $10 million in funding that will allow businesses to provide an additional five days of sick leave pay beyond their existing policies.

All…

For employers in the Garden State, 2019 brought a barrage of legal changes and new requirements. As 2019 comes to a close, we recap some of the most significant changes to the employment landscape in New Jersey.

Minimum wage

In July 2019, the New Jersey minimum wage increased to $10 per hour. This number will increase again effective January 1, 2020 to $11 per hour, with few exceptions. This number will continue to increase every January 1 through 2024 when the minimum wage will hit $15 per hour.Continue Reading Year in review: 2019 employment law changes in New Jersey

The City of Pittsburgh has provided much needed clarity regarding several lingering questions concerning the Paid Sick Days Act (the Act), which requires all private employers of full- or part-time employees within the City of Pittsburgh to provide paid sick leave benefits.

In July 2019, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld the Act following a nearly four-year long legal battle. At that time, the effective date of the Act and the status of prior guidelines issued by the City was unsettled. This week, the City addressed some of those unsettled issues.

First, the City announced that the Act will take effect on March 15, 2020.Continue Reading The City of Pittsburgh publishes new information regarding the Paid Sick Days Act

On October 10, 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom officially signed a bill expanding protected leave rights under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) to flight crew employees. We covered this issue in more detail here. The new law will allow flight crew employees to be eligible for CFRA protected leave with certain conditions.