New Jersey program
Paid sick hours you have already earned
New Jersey earned sick leave lets eligible workers use paid hours to care for a family member.
What it is
New Jersey earned sick leave lets eligible workers use paid hours to care for a family member.
A short absence for diagnosis, treatment or recovery may fit earned sick leave. The hours come through your employer. Your available balance determines how much paid time you can use.
Eligibility rules
- Covered employers have no size floor.
- Exceptions include certain construction workers under collective agreements, per-diem healthcare employees and public employees with full-pay sick leave under another state rule.
What you get
- Up to 40 paid sick hours in a benefit year.
- Time for your child's diagnosis, treatment, care or recovery.
What the help covers
- The accrual rate is one hour per 30 worked. The required yearly use limit is 40 hours.
If you decide to apply
- You can ask HR for your earned sick leave balance and the notice needed for a child's care.
- If you choose to use this leave, you can give the dates you need under the employer's sick-leave process. There is no state benefit application.
The employer, with the Department of Labor behind it · Official page ↗
After you ask
- HR confirms the available balance and handles payment through payroll.
Good to know
Some workers are excluded, including certain public employees who already receive full-pay sick leave.
Other details
- An employer's benefit year and available balance matter when planning individual appointment days.
“Could I use earned sick hours for my child's visits or recovery? How would that affect other leave, and could you help me work out which paid hours to use?”
Why I’m asking: A few paid hours could help with visits without using a longer leave period.
More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules
Who does what
The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.
You
Ask for the balance and give the notice your employer's policy requires.
Your social worker
HR tells you the balance and pays the hours at the usual rate.
The care team
Records and letters when the application asks for them.
- Who decides
- The employer.
- Ask HR
- “How many earned sick hours do I have? I need them to care for my child.”
How to apply
First step: Ask HR what your accrued sick-leave balance is.
- Ask HR what your accrued sick-leave balance is.
- Use these hours for clinic days before starting longer leave.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: Ask HR for your accrued balance and use it. There is nothing to file with the state.
What to gather
The diagnosis letter, the child’s insurance card, and the last two pay stubs cover most applications. The official page lists the rest.
How long: Available as soon as it is accrued; the employer may front the full year.
What a yes looks like
Paid hours on the pay stub for the days you took.
What a no looks like, and the next move
A refusal on a carve-out. Ask HR which exclusion they are relying on, in writing.
Watch out
- A few groups are carved out, including some public employees who already have full-pay sick leave.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
One paid hour for every 30 worked, up to 40 hours a year, at employers of every size.
- $30 — Hours worked for each hour of sick leave earned
- $40/year — Paid sick hours an employer must allow in a benefit year
Legal protection: The leave can be used to care for a family member during diagnosis, care, treatment or recovery
What it costs the family: Nothing: paid time already earned.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Employer size
- every covered employer, with no size floor
- Exclusions
- certain construction workers under a collective agreement, per-diem health-care employees, and public employees already entitled to full-pay sick leave under another state rule
- Use
- care for a family member during diagnosis, care, treatment or recovery
The trap: Some workers are carved out: certain construction workers under a collective agreement, per-diem health-care workers, and public employees who already have full-pay sick leave under another state rule.
Where I read this
- New Jersey wage and hour laws: Earned Sick Leave — New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, read September 10, 2026
- Earned Sick Leave — New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, read September 10, 2026