This study shows how many know about NJ's sick and family leave benefits

About half of New Jersey workers know they can take paid sick leave from their jobs, but fewer than half know about paid family leave, at least by the name of the law, according to a recent study put out by Rutgers University.

Nonetheless, seven in 10 respondents were aware paid sick leave exists in some form, and one in two were aware of the state’s paid family leave. 

In summer 2021, 71% of respondents were aware they had paid sick leave, 73% in fall 2021 and 74% in spring 2021 and fall 2020.

The state Department of Labor asked for the report by the university’s Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, and it's based on data from 2020 to 2022.

Many respondents know they have access to earned sick leave “but might not know it as the earned sick leave law or family leave insurance,” said Laurie Harrington, an assistant director at Heldrich who worked on the study. “By name they might not know it, but they know they have access to it.” 

Study showed little change in awareness over a two-year period

Research overlapped with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic; the study’s first efforts were conducted in fall 2020, when the state was in the throes of the pandemic. 

Data from the two-year study found that as of the summer of 2022, 50% of workers knew they could take up to 40 hours of earned sick leave per year to take care of themselves or a loved one. 

Meanwhile, 47% of workers were aware of the family leave insurance law, which provides money to workers to take time off from work so they can care for a newborn child or seriously ill or injured loved one.  

The study found that 51% of workers were aware of family leave and 55% aware of earned sick leave by the name of the law in fall 2021, 55% were aware of family leave and 61% aware of earned sick leave in spring 2021, and 53% were aware of the family leave law and 58% aware of the earned sick leave law in fall 2020.

“It’s important that workers understand that they have access to it, and it’s something that they contribute to through deductions on their paycheck, and it’s not a benefit provided by their employer, but a right that the law in New Jersey right now that they contribute to, and by law have access to,” Harrington said. 

The study showed little change in awareness of paid family leave or paid sick leave over the years. In fall 2020, 48% of workers were aware of the sick leave law by name and 51% were aware of the family leave law. 

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Understanding is key to using the benefit

More than four in 10 workers said they had concerns about using those benefits because of fear of retaliation, such as losing their job or losing out on potential job advancement. The state outlaws retaliation for using these programs. 

“The more people understand, the less concerned they are about punitive actions or retributions,” Harrington said.

The survey found that white, non-Hispanic respondents were less likely to say they had concerns than workers of color about using the paid sick leave or family leave benefits. 

“There were lots of potential reasons. One of them could be misinformation — employers not being forthright about their access to it — [and] less attention paid to the deductions in their paychecks,” Harrington said. 

The 2022 study relied on 1,018 New Jersey adults — 584 working for a New Jersey employer — interviewed between July 18 and 27.

The fall 2021 study relied on 1,008 adults — 539 working for a New Jersey employer — interviewed between Oct. 21 and 27. The spring study that year relied on 1,094 adults — 517 working in New Jersey — who were interviewed between May 21 and 29.

The 2020 study relied on 1,001 adults interviewed between Oct. 18 and 24 that year, 552 of whom worked for a New Jersey employer. 

“We’re committed to helping all New Jersey workers access their benefits, and to further reduce barriers to paid leave among communities that we know face particular challenges,” Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo said Tuesday. 

In order to raise awareness of both programs, state labor officials have awarded $2.6 million through the CARE (Cultivating Access, Rights, and Equity) grants program to 45 organizations handling public outreach related to the benefits and worker protections. 

Daniel Munoz covers business, consumer affairs, labor and the economy for NorthJersey.com and The Record. 

Email: munozd@northjersey.com; Twitter:@danielmunoz100