In advance of the January 11, 2017 effective date of the Morristown Paid Sick Leave Ordinance, the Town of Morristown, New Jersey just released its “Notice of Employee Rights to Paid Sick Time” (in addition to a Spanish version of the notice). Employers in Morristown must provide this notice to all new employees at the time of hire and to current employees as soon as practical. In addition, the notice must be posted in a “conspicuous and accessible place” in each location where employees are employed. Finally, the notice must be posted and distributed to employees in English and, if at least 10 percent of the employer’s workforce has a primary language other than English, it must be published in those languages as well.

The ordinance imposes upon employers the obligation to provide a certain amount of paid sick time per year depending on the size of the employer’s workforce. The ordinance also specifies when, how, and for what purposes an employee may use any such paid sick time. Finally, the ordinance also contains certain notice, recordkeeping, and antiretaliation provisions. 

To help both employers and employees understand their rights and responsibilities under the ordinance, the Town of Morristown has also released a “Frequently Asked Questions: Morristown Paid Sick Leave Ordinance.” The FAQ sheet generally addresses some of the most common questions about the ordinance and specifically addresses the obvious question of whether the ordinance applies to a business that is located outside of Morristown but has employees who physically work in Morristown. The FAQ sheet clarifies that “[a]s long as an employee works 80 or more hours in the Town of Morristown and is not employed by the government and is not a member of a construction union covered by a collective bargaining agreement,” that employee is covered by the ordinance, regardless of where the employer is registered or located. The FAQ sheet also provides an easy-to-read bullet-point list of the permitted uses of paid sick time.

Employers with employees performing services within the Town of Morristown should immediately take steps to ensure compliance with the ordinance, including its notice and posting requirements (even if their leave policies already meet or exceed the requirements of the law).