First-of-its-kind ruling exposes costly compliance gaps in vacation and sick leave policies
One employer's sick leave missteps just triggered a $1.3 million judgment affecting 103 workers in precedent-setting New Jersey ruling.
The New Jersey appeals court delivered its verdict on January 28, 2026, affirming that County Concrete Corporation violated the state's Earned Sick Leave Law across the board. The decision affects not just two drivers who brought the case, but 103 of their coworkers who joined the fight.
William Cano and Raymond Bonelli worked as hourly drivers at County Concrete's Kenvil location. Both served as union shop stewards. When their collective bargaining agreement expired in January 2019, they noticed something: the company wasn't following the state's sick leave law that had taken effect months earlier.
Five months later, they filed suit on behalf of themselves and their fellow employees at the company's five New Jersey worksites.
County Concrete tried two main defenses. First, it claimed the construction industry exemption freed it from the sick leave requirements. Second, it argued its vacation policy already satisfied the law.
Neither argument worked.
The court looked at how the federal government classifies businesses. Construction companies fall under one industry code. County Concrete, which makes and delivers ready-mix concrete using purchased sand and gravel, falls under manufacturing. The company supplies materials to builders. It doesn't build structures itself.
That distinction mattered. The construction exemption didn't apply.
The vacation policy problem ran deeper. County Concrete offered employees vacation days, bereavement leave, and paid holidays. Sounds reasonable enough. But the Earned Sick Leave Law requires employers to provide paid time off for specific purposes, and the company's policy missed several.
Employees couldn't use their vacation time when a family member got sick and needed care. They couldn't take paid time off for issues related to domestic violence. Parents couldn't use it for mandatory school conferences about their children. The policy also demanded a doctor's note for any illness-related absence, even a single sick day, which the law prohibits for absences under three days.
Making matters worse, the accrual system violated the law's basic math. New employees got zero paid days off during their first year. The statute requires employers to provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, starting immediately.
The company had actually stopped its payroll system from tracking sick leave accrual, even after the law took effect and the union contracts expired.
Then there were the notice failures. The law requires conspicuous posting of employee rights. County Concrete posted something at one location, tucked away where many employees never saw it. The other four worksites had nothing. Nobody received individual written notices explaining their rights, in English or Spanish or any other language.
The recordkeeping proved equally problematic. County Concrete couldn't produce proper documentation of hours worked, sick leave earned, or sick leave used. The payroll company's reports didn't track it. Paystubs didn't show it. When employers fail to keep adequate records under this law, courts presume they violated it unless the employer presents clear and convincing evidence otherwise.
County Concrete never cleared that bar.
The trial court calculated damages using each employee's hourly rate multiplied by 40 hours of unpaid sick leave, then added 200 percent liquidated damages on top as the statute requires. Cano received $8,880. Bonelli got $9,120.
The case took an unusual procedural turn with the other 103 employees. County Concrete argued they couldn't join without formal class certification. The court disagreed, pointing to language in the wage law that explicitly allows employees to bring actions on behalf of similarly situated coworkers.
The company had received notice from day one. The original complaint listed similarly situated employees right in the caption. During discovery, County Concrete handed over more than 27,000 pages of payroll records covering all the workers. The trial addressed their claims directly.
After trial, the court required each unnamed employee to sign a certification designating the named plaintiffs' lawyers as their representatives and agreeing to be bound by the judgment. Based on 133 such certifications, the parties reached a stipulated agreement for $758,898.38 in damages for this group, though County Concrete reserved its right to appeal everything.
Add in attorneys' fees of $591,423.91, and the total judgment hit $1,368,322.29.
The appeals court acknowledged this case broke new ground. The Earned Sick Leave Law, passed in 2018, had never been interpreted by New Jersey courts in a published decision. The procedural questions about collective actions had no clear answers.
So, the court did something unusual. It referred the whole procedural mess to the Civil Practice Committee, suggesting they develop standardized procedures for future sick leave cases. The court proposed something like the accelerated case management conferences required in medical malpractice cases, where judges address discovery issues and set ground rules early.
For now, though, the decision stands as a warning. HR departments need to audit their sick leave policies against every requirement in the statute. Calling it a vacation policy doesn't matter if employees can't actually use the time for sick leave purposes. Posting a notice in one break room doesn't cut it. Payroll systems need to track accrual and usage with precision.
The collective action aspect raises the stakes considerably. One compliance failure affecting dozens or hundreds of employees can quickly multiply into seven-figure liability, especially with mandatory liquidated damages that can triple the base award.
County Concrete learned that lesson the expensive way.
