18A:30-1. a. Sick leave is defined as the absence from an employee’s post of duty, for any of the following reasons:

(1) the employee is personally ill or injured;

(2) for diagnosis, care, or treatment of, or recovery from, an employee’s mental or physical illness, injury or other adverse health condition, or for preventive medical care for the employee;

(3) for the employee to aid or care for a family member of the employee during diagnosis, care, or treatment of, or recovery from, the family member’s mental or physical illness, injury or other adverse health condition, or during preventive medical care for the family member;

(4) absence necessary due to circumstances resulting from the employee, or a family member of the employee, being a victim of domestic or sexual violence, if the leave is to allow the employee to obtain for the employee or the family member:

(a) medical attention needed to recover from physical or psychological injury or disability caused by domestic or sexual violence;

(b) services from a designated domestic violence agency or other victim services organization;

(c) psychological or other counseling;

(d) relocation; or

(e) legal services, including obtaining a restraining order or preparing for, or participating in, any civil or criminal legal proceeding related to the domestic or sexual violence;

(5) the death of a family member for up to seven days;

(6) to attend a child’s school-related conference, meeting, function or other event requested or required by a school administrator, teacher, or other professional staff member responsible for the child’s education, or to attend a meeting regarding care provided to the child in connection with the child’s health conditions or disability;

(7) the school or place of care of a child of the employee is closed by order of a public official or because of a state of emergency declared by the Governor, due to an epidemic or other public health emergency;

(8) the employee has been exposed to a contagious disease or is quarantined for the disease in the employee’s immediate household.

b. The provisions of this section, and any regulations promulgated to implement or enforce this section, shall not supersede any law providing collective bargaining rights for school district employees, and shall not reduce, diminish, or adversely affect an employee’s collective bargaining rights.

c. As used in this section:

“Child” means a biological, adopted, or foster child, stepchild or legal ward of an employee, child of a domestic partner or civil union partner of the employee.

“Designated domestic violence agency” means a county-wide organization whose primary purpose is to provide services to victims of domestic violence, and which provides services that conform to the core domestic violence services profile as defined by the Division of Child Protection and Permanency in the Department of Children and Families and is under contract with the division for the express purpose of providing the services.

“Domestic or sexual violence” means stalking, any sexually violent offense, as defined in section 3 of P.L.1998, c.71 (C. 30:4-27.26), or domestic violence as defined in section 3 of P.L.1991, c.261 (C. 2C:25-19) and section 1 of P.L.2003, c.41 (C. 17:29B-16).

“Family member” means a child, grandchild, sibling, spouse, domestic partner, civil union partner, parent, or grandparent of an employee, or a spouse, domestic partner, or civil union partner of a parent or grandparent of the employee, or a sibling of a spouse, domestic partner, or civil union partner of the employee, or any other individual related by blood to the employee or whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.

L.1967, c.271; amended 2023, c.95, s.1.