Paid Family Leave
Effective July 17, 2026, the New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA) is amended to apply to:
- Employers with 15 or more employees (down from 30); and
- Employees who worked for a covered employer for at least three months (down from 12) and worked at least 250 base hours (down from 1,000) during the immediately preceding 12-month period.
The NJFLA provides eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave during a 24-month period for qualifying family-related reasons, including:
- To care for or bond with a child, as long as the leave begins within one year of the child’s birth or placement for adoption or foster care;
- To care for a family member, or someone who is the equivalent of family, who has a serious health condition;
- To care for a family member, or someone who is the equivalent of family, who has been isolated or quarantined because of suspected exposure to a communicable disease during a state of emergency; or
- To provide required care or treatment for a child if their school or place of care is closed by order of a public official due to an epidemic of a communicable disease or other public health emergency during a state of emergency.
Also, effective July 17, 2026 employees who take paid family leave (PFL) or temporary disability benefits (TDB) must be restored to the position they held when leave began or to an equivalent position. Employees retain all layoff and recall rights as if they had not taken leave.
In addition, an employee who is eligible for paid sick leave and either TDB or PFL can choose which leave to use and the order in which the leaves are taken, but may not receive different kinds of paid leave simultaneously.