New Jersey SAFE Act Poster/Notification Issued

As we noted in our recent Management Alert, the newly enacted New Jersey Security and Financial Empowerment Act ("NJ SAFE Act") requires that private employers in the state of New Jersey provide certain victims of domestic violence and sexual assault up to 20 days of unpaid leave to participate in a range of activities, such as seeking medical attention or legal assistance, obtaining counseling or services from a victim services organization, or participating in safety-related acts or court proceedings. (For more information regarding the NJ SAFE Act, including which employers the law applies to and which employees may qualify for leave, please see our earlier management alert, available here). The law goes into effect on October 1, 2013.

One key requirement of the law is that by October 1, 2013, employers must notify employees of their rights and obligations under the Act by among other things posting notice of such rights in a conspicuous location around the workplace. The New Jersey Department of Labor just recently prepared the model notice, which we strongly encourage employers to use as their posted notice. (The notice is also available on the Department of Labor's website here). The statute also requires employers to use other appropriate means of notifying employees, which likely includes posting the notice on the company Intranet and incorporating it into the employee handbook. Employers should also consider distributing copies of the notice to all current New Jersey employees and new hires, and training supervisors, managers and human resources personnel on the rights and obligations under the Act.