New Jersey Holiday Laws
Despite having federal holidays, no federal law or New Jersey state law
requires employers to allow employees off for holidays. Many businesses
and companies may allow employees to have between five to seven
holidays a year, but they are under no mandatory necessity to do so.
Employers are also not required to pay employees for having holidays
off.
Federal law states that a business or a company may be open three
hundred sixty-five days a year, requiring employees to work holidays
and weekends. Simply because an employee works a holiday does not mean
he or she is to be paid more for his or time worked. Some businesses
and companies may provide a premium payment for working holidays, but
employers are under no obligation to provide this benefit.
Holiday pay will most often cancel out overtime for that week. When
employees are paid to have a holiday off they are paid up to eight
hours; through the rest of the week if they work more than forty hours
-- including the holiday hours -- they will still not be paid overtime.
Any overtime worked will be cancelled out by the holiday hours and
employees will be paid their normal wages rather than time and a half.
Family and Medical Leave
New Jersey does not have its own state laws for how employees are to
take leave of absences. Instead New Jersey uses the federal Family and
Medical Leave Act. This act was passed in 1993 and allows employees job
security while taking necessary leave for up to twelve weeks. In order
for family or medical leave to be legitimate, employees must have
probable cause.
The Family and Medical Leave Act covers the necessities of maternity
leave, hospitalization, caring for an ill child, personal illness,
caring for an elderly parent, and any other extended psychological or
medical purpose. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act also protects
expectant employees and allows them to work and take leave without
termination. According to federal law maternity leave includes caring
for a newborn and allowing adoptive parents to bond with new children.
Family and medical leave is to be taken in a consecutive manner and
cannot exceed twelve weeks. During these twelve weeks an employee
cannot be terminated and is entitled to his or her same occupation, or
one of equal salary and benefit, upon his or her return. An employee
may request to return to work, full-time or part-time, before the
twelve weeks have concluded, but an employer had the right to deny this
request.
Tipped Salary
In 2009 the United States raised its federal minimum wage to seven
dollars and twenty-five cents. This required all states to raise their
minimum wages to mirror or exceed this standard. New Jersey chose to
meet the federal minimum wage. Under the federal Fair Labor Standards
of 1938 employers are not legally allowed to pay employees less than
this minimum, unless employees are tipped.
Employees who acquire tips on a regular basis may be paid two dollars
and thirteen cents and hour, as tips make up the wage difference. When
tips are acquired in mass employees are required to divide them at the
end of a shift.