As our
state and federal governments continue to try and mitigate the impact of
COVID-19 on society, Governor Murphy has expanded New Jersey’s already robust
Family Leave Act.
On April
14, 2020, Governor Murphy signed legislation which expands the protections
offered by New Jersey’s Family Leave Act. This specifically affects
employees who take time off work to care for a family member as a result of an
epidemic, including to provide care of a child if that child’s school or place
of care is closed in response to a public health emergency. Such
leave is limited to 12 weeks within a 24 month period and must be provided by
an employer with 30 or more employees.
The
expanded leave permits employees to take family leave during a state of
emergency declared by the Governor or when ordered by a public health authority
under the following circumstances:
(a) to provide in-home care
or treatment of a child due to the closure of the school or place of care of
the child of the employee, by order of a public official due to the epidemic or
other public health emergency;
(b) to provide care for a
family member who has been ordered to remain home because the presence in the
community of the family member would jeopardize the health of others; or
(c) to provide care for a family
member when a healthcare provider or public health authority recommends that a
family member in need of care by the employee voluntarily undergo
self-quarantine as a result of suspected exposure to a communicable disease
because the presence in the community of that family member in need of care by
the employee, would jeopardize the health of others.
An
employer may require a certification of the need for leave, which may be
provided by a healthcare provider or school or child care provider, depending
on the reason for the leave.
Leave may
be taken on an intermittent basis if the employee provides prior notice of the
leave as soon as practicable and makes a reasonable effort to schedule the
leave so as not to cause undue disruption to the employer, including providing
if possible a regular schedule of the day or days of the week on which leave
will be taken.
Riker
Danzig is here to help if you need assistance of any kind. Please do not
hesitate to contact Scott
Ohnegian, Adam
McInerney, Fiona
Cousland, or any member of Riker Danzig's Labor
& Employment Group regarding any specific legal issue affecting
your business.
Please
visit Riker Danzig’s COVID-19
Resource Center to stay up to date on all related legal issues.
