Leave for Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, or Stalking: New Jersey

This Leave for Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, or Stalking policy applies to employees in New Jersey under the Security and Financial Empowerment (SAFE) Act and explains how your organization will provide up to 20 days of job-protected, unpaid leave when an employee or a covered family member needs time away to address safety, medical care, counseling, housing, or legal needs after domestic violence or a sexually violent offense. It also sets clear expectations around eligibility, notice, documentation, confidentiality, and non-retaliation, so employees can request support without having to share unnecessary details.

The History Behind Leave for Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, or Stalking Policies in New Jersey

This policy sits in Family & Self Care Leaves, originating from the reality that survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault often need time during business hours to do the things that actually make them safer. Medical visits, counseling, meeting with advocates, changing locks, finding housing, going to court, getting a restraining order, talking to prosecutors... none of that happens neatly after 5 p.m. New Jersey lawmakers heard, again and again, that without job-protected time off, many people either stayed in dangerous situations or lost their income trying to get out.

That pressure led to the New Jersey Security and Financial Empowerment (SAFE) Act, signed in 2013 (P.L.2013, c.82). The law created up to 20 days of unpaid, job-protected leave for employees who are victims, or whose covered family members are victims, so they can handle the safety, health, and legal fallout of an incident. The eligibility thresholds (12 months of service and 1,000 hours worked) and the documentation options were part of the compromise: employees get real access to leave without having to relive the details at work, and employers get a way to confirm the request is tied to a qualifying event.

What's interesting is what the SAFE Act doesn't try to do. It doesn't replace other leave laws, it's meant to stack when the facts overlap, and it doesn't pretend a single day off fixes anything. It's a narrow tool with a specific job: protect someone's paycheck and position while they deal with a crisis that rarely stays outside the workplace.

Which Law is the Leave for Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, or Stalking Policy Meant to Comply With?

If you create and distribute a Leave for Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, or Stalking Policy for your New Jersey-based employees, it is in an effort to comply with New Jersey's Security and Financial Empowerment Act (NJ SAFE Act) (P.L.2013, c.82).

How to Write a New Jersey-Specific Leave for Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, or Stalking Policy

• Start with "why" and introduce the concept, explain that New Jersey SAFE Act leave supports employees dealing with domestic or sexual violence-related safety, medical, counseling, housing, and legal needs.
• Define who can take the leave by stating the basic employee eligibility requirements and who counts as a covered family member.
• List the main qualifying reasons for leave, such as medical care, counseling, victim services, safety planning or relocation, and legal help or court participation.
• Explain the leave structure by stating that the leave is unpaid, limited in amount, and can be taken as a block or intermittently.
• Address how this leave coordinates with other leave laws by noting it may run concurrently when the same reason qualifies under multiple programs.
• Describe the notice process at a high level by explaining that employees should provide notice as early as they reasonably can.
• Explain documentation expectations by stating you may request confirming documentation, without requiring employees to share detailed incident facts.
• Include a confidentiality commitment covering leave requests and supporting documentation, with disclosure only by written permission or legal requirement.
• Add a non-retaliation statement that prohibits adverse action for requesting or taking leave or for refusing to authorize disclosure of protected information.
• End with a clear point of contact for questions and leave requests using your HR team placeholder.

When to Include this Policy in Your Employee Handbook

If you have employees in New Jersey and you don't have a similar policy that's available for all US employees, you should include this policy in your employee handbook for New Jersey-based employees. 

The law states: 

"An employer shall conspicuously display notification, in a place or places accessible to all employees in each of the employer's workplaces, of employees' rights and obligations under this act, in a form issued by regulation promulgated by the commissioner." (New Jersey Security and Financial Empowerment Act (SAFE Act), P.L.2013, c.82, codified at N.J.S.A. 34:11C-4)

Your employee handbook qualifies as a way to publish this information to employees, but the statute specifically requires a conspicuous workplace posting in a form issued by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, so you'll typically want both: the required poster and a handbook policy that explains how employees can request SAFE Act leave. 

Other Considerations

The law applies to New Jersey employers who have at least 25 employees working in the US.

Exceptions

None