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Notice requirements differ depending on the type of leave you need.

• Planned leave: Employers can require you to give seven days’ advance notice for planned leave like wellness or school appointments.
  • Restrictions during peak times: Employers might limit leave during busy periods but must inform you of these dates.
    
    
• Unplanned leave: Inform your employer as soon as possible.

If the employer has not stated the notice requirement, the employer must allow you to use the planned earned sick leave without prior notice.

• Your employer cannot require documentation for one day of sick leave, or two consecutive days.
• Employer can require documentation for three or more consecutive days off.
• Employers can ask you your reason for leave.
• If your employer is not allowed to ask for documentation, they must assume your reason for taking leave is valid.
• Predetermined busy periods: employers can require you to provide documentation. They must inform you of these dates.

Your rate of pay for earned sick leave must be your regular hourly rate.

Your sick leave pay must be at least the state minimum wage.

If your pay is non-standard, add your total earnings (excluding overtime) from the last seven days worked. Divide this by the total hours of work in these days.

This applies if:

• your pay varies
• you have multiple jobs with the same employer
• you’re paid by the piece (piecework)
• your pay includes tips, food, or lodging

If you’re paid by commission, use your hourly base wage or the state minimum wage, whichever is greater.

Your employer must keep your sick leave private. They need your written permission to share any information.

Employers must pay you for any Earned Sick Leave you use in the same pay period.

Pay must come with your regular paycheck or another method that you can easily deposit, or cash.

Your employer cannot:  

• require you to make up hours instead of using earned sick leave 
• force you to find a replacement for your shift
  

They can allow you to make up hours if you both agree.

You may carry over up to 40 hours of unused earned sick leave into the next benefit year. Your employer has to allow you to use up to 40 hours of leave per benefit year, even if you carried over leave from the prior year.

Your employer could pay you for your unused earned sick leave at the end of the benefit year.

Employers must:

• Provide a written notice about Earned Sick Leave.
• Display the Earned Sick Leave poster in an easily visible spot. .

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 earn one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked.

Advance leave: Employers can give 40 hours at the start of the benefit year. This eliminates the need to track accruals.

Prorated advance leave: If hiring mid-year, employers can prorate leave. Employer must still provide one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked.

Employers must keep records documenting compliance over the last five years.

Records must include:

• employee hours worked
• accrued/advanced sick time,
• sick time use, pay out, and carryover

Employers must provide NJDOL records upon request.

Employees transferred to another location within ӣ����Ƶ retain their sick leave.

If rehired within six months, employees keep sick leave.

If a new employer takes over the business, they must maintain sick leave from the predecessor.

Your employer cannot punish you for:

• Using sick leave
• Filing a complaint
• Talking about your rights

Punishment includes threats, firing, cutting hours, or other adverse actions. Employers breaking this law may face fines and penalties.

This law has a “rebuttable presumption”. This means if you report a violation or talk about rights and face adverse actions within 90 days, NJDOL presumes it's retaliation.

Your employer must prove it wasn't retaliation. "Adverse actions" are those discouraging you from exercising your rights.

If you believe your employer has violated the law, you can file a complaint:

• Online: File a wage complaint
• By mail or fax: Download a printable complaint form 
• 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

Click here to learn more about filing a wage complaint.

If an employer faces allegations of violating the law:

• NJDOL will notify them by certified mail.
• Employer has 15 days to request a formal hearing.
• If not settled informally, the matter goes to a formal hearing.

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 where your presence is requested, as well as meetings about your child’s health or disability.

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

Descargar un folleto sobre la baja por enfermedad para padres y tutores (español)

You decide the time increments that employees can use their earned sick leave, such as 30 minutes, one hour, half a day, or a full day. The largest increment you may require an employee to use is the total number of hours the employee was scheduled to work for their shift. 

For example, if an employee was supposed to work a four-hour shift and wants to take only one hour of sick leave, you can allow them to do so. Or you can require them to take the full shift off and deduct no more than 4 hours from their sick leave bank.

No. Employees do not lose their earned sick leave if they don’t use it.  

You must allow employees to carry over up to 40 hours of unused Earned Sick Leave into the next benefit year. You are only required to permit them to use up to 40 hours of leave per benefit year, no matter how much time they have carried over and accrued. 

Additionally, you have the option to pay employees for their unused earned sick leave at the end of the benefit year. 

For example, if your employee has five hours of unused sick time at the end of the benefit year and accrues their leave, you can either (1) pay them for the 5 hours at their normal rate of pay or (2) have them start of the next benefit year with 5 hours of sick time they carried over.

For employees with non-standard pay, calculate sick leave pay by adding their total earnings (excluding overtime) from the last seven days worked and dividing by the total hours worked during those days. 

For example (example is current as of 2025): 

A restaurant employee needs to take sick leave this week. Last week they worked 40 hours. 

• They spent 10 hours folding napkins and setting tables earning $15.49 per hour. This totals $154.90. 

• They spent 30 hours as a server, earning $5.62 cash wage for a total of $168.60. 

• They also earned $500 in customer tips. 

In total, the employee earned $823.50 for the week.  

To find out how much they earned per hour, you divide $823.50 by the 40 hours they worked. This equals $20.59 per hour. 

Therefore, the employee’s sick leave pay rate is $20.59 per hour.

You are required to inform your employee about their right to NJ Earned Sick Leave.

• You must give employees a written notice about Earned Sick Leave when they are hired.
• You must display the Earned Sick Leave poster in an easily visible spot. Click here to download a printable version of the poster.

You must do so in the employee’s primary language if available on NJDOL’s website.

There are other ways you can inform your employees about their rights to NJ Earned Sick Leave, but they’re not required by law. Here are some examples:

• Employee Handbook and Training: Include details about the Earned Sick Leave law in your employee handbook and training materials.
• Handouts: Share handouts from NJDOL about Earned Sick Leave with your employees.
• Email Reminders: Send emails to your employees to remind them about the Earned Sick Leave policy.

These employees still earn 1 hour of Earned Sick Leave for every 30 hours worked. Or you could provide these employees 40 hours of sick leave upfront at the beginning of the benefit year.  

Regardless, you have to keep records of how many hours your employees have worked and of the sick leave they’ve earned and taken throughout the benefit year.

You only need to let employees take sick leave for reasons that the law allows. If you believe an employee uses sick leave for reasons not covered by the law, you can address the matter with them. See N.J.S.A. 34:11D-3(c).

Keep in mind:

• There are many allowable uses for sick leave under the law. It's not just for physical illness or doctor visits; there are various valid reasons.
• You can only ask for proof from an employee if they use sick leave for three or more consecutive days. Make sure any request for documentation complies with this rule.

It could help to consult an attorney or a personnel specialist to discuss specific situations.

You can have different methods for employees to earn their sick time when there is reason to do so. For example, you might advance sick leave to full-time employees but have part-time employees accrue their sick time. It’s a good idea to document a clear business reason to keep it fair. Regardless, you must meet the minimum requirements of the law and provide employees at least one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to 40 hours per benefit year.

You can use an existing Paid Time Off (PTO) policy to follow the Earned Sick Leave law, as long as it meets or goes beyond the law's basic requirements. For example, your employee needs to be able to use PTO for any of the reasons the Earned Sick Leave law allows, have the same notice and documentation requirements, etc. 

For example, you can’t use your PTO policy to meet the requirements of the Earned Sick Leave law if: 

• Your employee can't use PTO for school- related conferences, meetings, or other events, when their attendance is requested by a school staff member. 

• You require your employee to give advanced notice to use PTO for unexpected health issues (like waking up with a fever). 

• Your employee has to find coverage to use PTO. 

You can have different policies for Earned Sick Leave and other types of PTO, like vacation days. administrative leave, or extra sick time beyond the required 40 hours per year. If you count them separately, only the Earned Sick Leave policy needs to follow all the Earned Sick Leave law’s requirements. 

If you don't separate Earned Sick Leave from PTO, then all PTO must be treated as Earned Sick Leave, even if it's more than 40 hours.

No, you cannot make an employee use Earned Sick Leave before they use NJ Paid Family and Medical Leave benefits (also known as Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance). Learn more here.

The Earned Sick Leave law requires you to provide your employees with up to 40 hours of paid sick time per benefit year. You always have the option to exceed the law’s minimum requirements and provide your employee with more sick time, but you are not required to do so. 

An employee could also be eligible for  NJ’s Paid Family and Medical Leave benefits for longer term leave. See our employer toolkit at  

Keep in mind, your employees may be covered under separate state and federal job protection laws. Visit our job protection coverage checker to learn more.  

• 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 may qualify for other benefits. Visit to learn more.

Visit the grant webpage for more information.