New Jersey Expands Employee Leave Benefits to Address Coronavirus Issues
New Jersey recently amended its Paid Sick Leave, Family Leave, and Temporary Disability Benefits laws to address employee leave rights and benefits impacted by COVID-19. The changes, which addressed gaps in the law specific to the current pandemic, include the following:
New Jersey Earned Sick and Safe Leave Law (ESSL)
The ESSL has been amended to include the following situations in which employees may use earned sick leave when they are unable to work:
The closure of the employer’s workplace, or the school or place of care of the employee’s child, because of a Governor declared state of emergency due to an epidemic or public health emergency.
The declaration of a state of emergency by the Governor, or the issuance by a health care provider, the Commissioner of Health, or other public health authority of a determination that the employee’s presence in the community, or a member of the employee’s family in need of care by the employee, would jeopardize the health of others.
During a Governor declared state of emergency the employee is recommended or directed by a healthcare provider, the Commissioner of Health, or other authorized public official to undergo isolation or quarantine, or cares for a family member in quarantine, as a result of the suspected exposure to a communicable disease and a finding by the provider or authority that the presence of the employee or family member in the community would jeopardize the health of others.
As expanded, the ESSL now covers employees impacted the closures in the Governor’s recent Executive Orders, as well as employees who are not sick, but are quarantined due to suspected exposure to COVID-19.
New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA)
Under the NJFLA, eligible employees are entitled to up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a 24-month period for the birth or adoption of a child or to take care of a family member with a serious illness, injury, or health condition. The NJFLA applies to employers with 30 or more employees.
The the definition of a “serious health condition” has been expanded to include, during a state of emergency declared by the Governor, “an illness caused by an epidemic of a communicable disease, a known or suspected exposure to a communicable disease, or efforts to prevent the spread of a communicable disease,” requiring the employee to provide in-home treatment or care of family member due to:
a healthcare provider, or the Commissioner of Health or other public health authority, determining that the family member’s presence in the community may jeopardize the health of others; and
the healthcare provider or authority recommending, directing, or ordering that the family member be isolated or quarantined because of suspected exposure to the communicable disease.
Significantly, this amendment does not require the the employee’s family member be sick with COVID-19, but only that the family member was directed to quarantine or isolate due a suspected or actual exposure to the disease.
New Jersey Temporary Disability Benefits Law (NJTDL)
The legislation also made a number of amendments that expand the NJTDL. Those amendments include:
Expanding the definition of “sickness” to match the new definition of a serious health condition under the the NJFLA.
Providing that employees who are taking leave to care for the accident or sickness of a family member are eligible for temporary disability benefits.
Eliminating the seven-day waiting period for eligibility when the “disability” is caused by the newly expanded definition of a sickness.
Unlike some of the other measures being enacted to address the impact of COVID-19, these changes are not temporary. New Jersey employers will need to update their handbook policies to incorporate these changes.
If you have questions about your business’s handling of coronavirus related employment or business issues, please contact us at (201) 345-5412 / (646) 503-5358 or through our online scheduling system to schedule a complimentary consultation.