FMLA - New Jersey

Covered employers

The law applies to all employers with employees in the state.

Employee eligibility

Employees simply need to work for an employer, but employees in the construction industry under a CBA, per diem health care employees, and public employees are not included.

Leave entitlement

Employees who work in the state may accrue one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked. They may accrue and use up to 40 hours of leave in a period of 12 consecutive months established by the employer. Employers may front-load the leave at the beginning of the year. Employers may limit accrual and carry over to 40 hours of paid sick leave.

Employees begin accruing leave when they begin working for the company and may use it as soon as it is accrued.

Employers may limit carry over more than 40 hours of accrued sick time in a single benefit year. In lieu of carrying over leave, employers may offer that an employee be paid for unused leave in the final month of the employer’s benefit year. The employee has 10 calendar days to choose to accept the payment. The employee must choose a payment for the full amount of leave or for 50 percent of the amount of leave (the other 50 percent carries over).

Employers may prohibit employees from using foreseeable earned sick leave on certain dates, and require reasonable documentation if unforeseeable leave is used during those dates.

If employers already provide paid sick leave that meets the law’s provisions, they need not provide more.

Employees are to be paid at the same rate they normally earn.

Reasons for leave

Employees may use the paid sick leave for the following reasons:

• For diagnosis, care, treatment, or recovery from an employee’s mental or physical illness, injury or other adverse health condition, or for preventive medical care;
• For the employee to care for a family member during diagnosis, care, treatment, or recovery from, the family member’s mental or physical illness, injury or other adverse health condition, or preventive medical care;
• Due to circumstances resulting from the employee or a family member being a victim of domestic or sexual violence, including obtaining medical attention, services from a victim services organization, psychological or other counseling, relocation, or legal services;
• When the employee is unable to work because of a closure of the employee’s workplace or his or her child’s school or place of care due to a public health emergency, or if the employee’s or a family member’s presence in the community of the employee would jeopardize the health of others; or
• In relation to an employee’s child, to attend a school conference, meeting, function, or other event requested or required by the school, or to attend a meeting regarding a child’s care in connection with the child’s health condition or disability.

Family members include children, grandchildren, siblings, spouses, domestic partners, civil union partners, parents, or grandparents, spouses of parents or grandparents, brother- or sister-in laws, or anyone else related to an employee by blood or close associate equivalent to a family relationship.

Notice

If an employee’s need for leave is foreseeable, employers may require up to seven days’ advance notice of the intention to use the leave and its expected duration. Employees must make a reasonable effort to schedule the leave in a manner that does not unduly disrupt the employer’s operations. If the reason for the leave is not foreseeable, employers may require employees to give notice of the intention as soon as practicable, if the employee has been notified of this requirement.

Employers may require reasonable documentation supporting the leave if the leave is for three or more consecutive days. This documentation should be completed by a health care provider and indicate the need for the leave and, if possible, number of days of leave. For domestic/sexual violence, other documentation is acceptable.

Employers must display a notice of the employee rights, including the amount of earned sick leave to which they are entitled, the terms of its use, and applicable remedies. They must also provide each employee with a written copy upon hire and when an employee first requests leave.

Employee eligibility

To be eligible for leave, an employee must have worked at least one year with at least 1,000 hours of service during the immediately preceding 12 months. In contrast, the FMLA requires that employees work at least 12 months and 1,250 hours during the 12-month period immediately preceding the leave, and work at a site with at least 50 company employees within 75 miles.

Leave entitlement

Unlike the FMLA, which allows up to a total of 12 weeks of leave during a 12-month period, New Jersey allows eligible employees 12 weeks of leave within any 24-month period.

However, an employer may deny leave to key salaried employees (those among the highest-paid 5% or among seven highest-paid employees) if necessary to prevent serious economic harm.

Reasons for leave

During a state of emergency declared by the Governor, an epidemic of a communicable disease declared by the Commissioner of Health or other public health authority, or a known or suspected exposure to the communicable disease, the NJ FLA provides leave for the following reasons:

• To care for or bond with a child, as long as the leave begins within 1 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, with a serious health condition (including a diagnosis of COVID-19), or who has been isolated or quarantined because of suspected exposure to a communicable disease (including COVID-19) during a state of emergency; or
• To provide required care or treatment for a child during a state of emergency if their school or place of care is closed by order of a public official due to an epidemic of a communicable disease (including COVID-19) or other public health emergency.

Otherwise, the NJFLA provides family leave for the following purposes:

• The birth of a child of the employee (even if the birth of a child conceived using a gestational carrier agreement),
• The adoption or foster placement of a child by the employee, or
• The serious health condition of a family member of the employee.

Family members include a parent, child under 18, spouse, civil union partner, parents-in-law, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, any other individual related by blood to the employee, and any other individual the employee shows to have a close association with equivalent of a family relationship. The family member is to have a serious health condition requiring in-patient care, continuing medical treatment or medical supervision. The Family Leave Act considers parents to be: in-laws, step-parents, foster parents, adoptive parents or others having a parent-child relationship with an employee.

Unlike the FMLA, The NJFLA does not allow leave for an employee’s own serious health condition. Thus, even though an employee may utilize all of his or her allotted time under FMLA due to his or her own serious health condition, the employee may subsequently be entitled to time off under the NJFLA in connection with the birth or adoption/foster placement of a child or the serious illness of a family member.

When an employee requests leave for a reason covered by both the NJFLA and another law such as the federal FMLA, the leave simultaneously counts against the employee's entitlement under both laws.

Maintenance of health benefits

Similar to the FMLA, New Jersey requires that employers continue to maintain health and employment benefits while an employee is on family leave.

Job restoration

The FMLA states that an employee returning from leave is entitled to his or her former job or an equivalent job. The NJFLA requires that an employee returning from leave is entitled to their former position or to an equivalent position of like seniority, status, employment benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment. Employers covered under both the NJFLA and FMLA must therefore allow the employee on leave to return to their former job, if that job still exists.

Notice

Similar to the FMLA, the NJFLA requires that an employee give advance notice of leave to their employer in a reasonable and practicable manner. Instead of being a “leave” provision, the law provides for a monetary benefit.

Employee eligibility

Employees who have worked at least 20 calendar weeks where they earned a minimum amount per week before leave is to begin are eligible for the benefit.

Leave entitlement

Employees may apply for and take up to 12 weeks of FLI leave, or 56 days on an intermittent basis.

Eligible applicants who are covered by the state FLI plan will receive weekly benefits of 2/3 an employee’s weekly pay, to a maximum of 53 percent of the state average wage.

Reasons for leave

Leave may be taken to provide care for a sick family member or to care for a newborn or newly adopted or foster-placed child, or for domestic/sexual violence. Leave may also be taken for the employee’s or a family member’s quarantine or isolation in relation to an epidemic of a communicable disease.

Family members include spouses, civil union partners, domestic partners, parents, children, siblings, parents-in-law, grandparents, grandchildren, or any other blood relative, as well as anyone the employee shows to have a close association the equivalent of a family relationship. Parents include those that are biological, foster, adoptive, step, or legal guardians. Children include those that are biological, adopted, foster, step, legal ward, children of a domestic partner or civil union partner.

Employees may take family leave for reasons related to domestic or sexual violence regarding an employee or family member victim.

The definition of care and a serious health condition are similar to those of federal FMLA. Leave may be taken intermittently when the employer agrees.

Job restoration

The FLI does not specifically require employers to restore employees to their positions upon the end of leave, but employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees for taking FLI leave. The federal and New Jersey family and medical leave laws do specifically require reinstatement.

Notice

Employees must provide advanced notice of at least 15 days when leave is taken to care for a sick family member. They must provide 30 days’ prior notice to care for the other reasons, including to bond with a child.

Employers may require medical certification. Employers are required to post a notice, provide employees with a copy, and provide a copy to a new employee upon hiring. Employers must also provide written notice whenever an employee notifies the employer of the need for leave.