Bloomfield Becomes Ninth New Jersey Town to Pass Paid Sick Leave Ordinance, Plainfield May Follow Suit

 

Authored by: Ryan T. Warden, Evan J. Shenkman, and Steven J. Luckner

On March 2, 2015, Bloomfield became the latest New Jersey town to pass a paid sick leave ordinance, and the first to do so in 2015. The Bloomfield ordinance, which goes into effect on June 30, 2015, is nearly identical to the ordinances passed last year in Passaic, East Orange, Paterson, Irvington, Montclair, and Trenton. All of these ordinances closely track, but are not identical to, Newark’s paid sick leave ordinance. Accordingly, for more guidance on compliance with the Bloomfield ordinance, see our March 2014 issue of the New Jersey eAuthority, which summarizes the Newark ordinance, as well as our November 2014 issue of the New Jersey eAuthority, which explains the differences between the Newark ordinance and the other ordinances mentioned above. These previous publications also provide suggestions for complying with the ordinances’ notice and posting requirements. (Also note that employers with employees in Jersey City must comply with its sick leave ordinance, which does not track Newark’s ordinance.)

The City of Plainfield, which was also considering passage of its own sick leave ordinance, voted down the proposal in a 3-3 vote on April 6, 2015, although legislators have vowed to reintroduce the measure.