There is good news on the horizon for the majority of New Jersey employees, in that shortly before leaving office, former New Jersey Governor Philip Murphy signed into law Senate bill 2950 and Assembly bill 3451 which greatly expands protections for Family Leave for the majority of New Jersey employees. The bill takes effect on July 14, 2026. The signed A3451/S2950 amended the New Jersey Family Leave Act several major ways to cover more employees by broadening eligibility for employee job-protected leave under the New Jersey Family Leave Act and by covering more employers under its definitions.
The New Jersey Family Leave Act allows covered employees to take unpaid time off from work to take care of a care of a sick or disabled relative, including to care for seriously ill aging parents, (even if the illness is temporary) or a spouse, or other relative. The New Jersey Family Leave Act also allows covered employees to take unpaid time off from work when there is a birth or adoption of a child. See New Jersey Pregnancy Discrimination Lawyer. I accept cases from all over the state and have locations in northern, central and southern NJ to meet with clients. Call today for a free consultation.
Employees: The Amendments Broaden Eligibility for Job-protected Leave under the New Jersey Family Leave Act (FLA) to Cover More NJ Employees.
Under the current FLA, the definitions of the requirements for an “Employee" to be a covered “Employee” who is entitled to its protections and benefits, means a person who is employed for at least 12 months by an employer for not less than 1,000 base hours during the immediately preceding 12-month period.
Under the Amended FLA taking effect on July 14, 2026, the definitions of the requirements for an "Employee" to be a covered “Employee” who is entitled to its protections and benefits, means a person who is employed for at least only three (3) months by an employer for not less than 250 base hours during the immediately preceding 12 month period. This is a significant change. Its enactment greatly expands the number of employees, who are not working full time, who will nevertheless receive FLA protection and benefits.
Employers: The Amendments taking effect on July 14, 2026, expands the number of NJ employers who are covered under the FLA.
The bill changes the definitions of covered employers by reducing by 50% the number of employees the employer has to employ to be covered under the FLA. Currently, until the Amended FLA takes effect on July 14, 2026, any employer who employs 30 or more employees for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the then current or immediately preceding calendar year is covered. The Amended FLA reduces this to only requiring fifteen (15) employees in for the employer to be covered under. This the new Amended FLA, only half the number. The language of the bill states that with respect to any period of time after its effective date, a covered employer is one who employs “15 or more employees for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the then current or immediately preceding calendar year.”
Job Protection: Upon the Expiration of the Leave, Employee is to Be Restored to the Position Held by the Employee When the Leave Commenced or to an Equivalent Position.
The Amendments also added the following language for job protection upon the expiration of the employee’s leave:
“Any covered individual who took any temporary disability benefits pursuant to P.L.1948, c.110 (C.43:21-25 et al.), or family temporary disability leave benefits pursuant to P.L.2008, c.17 (C.43:21-39.1 et al.), shall, upon the expiration of the leave, be entitled to be restored by the employer to the position held by the employee when the leave commenced or to an equivalent position of like seniority, status, employment benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment, except that nothing in this section or any section of P.L.2008, c.17 (C.43:21-39.1 et al.) shall be construed as increasing, reducing or otherwise modifying any entitlement provided to a worker by the provisions of the "Family Leave Act," P.L.1989, c.261 (C.34:11B-1 et seq.) to be restored to employment by the employer after a period of family temporary disability leave.
The employee shall retain all rights under any applicable layoff and recall system, including a system under a collective bargaining agreement, as if the employee had not taken the leave.”
If a covered New Jersey employee takes leave under the Family Leave Act to care for a family member with a serious health issue, employers cannot thereafter discredit the employee’s job performance by giving them undervalued Employee Performance Evaluations.
DON’T SIT ON YOUR RIGHTS
In many instances of discrimination, if you quit your job, you may lose right to prevail in a lawsuit unless you first take certain legally required measures to preserve your job while you are still employed. If you are thinking of handing in a resignation letter or think you will be fired (or have already been terminated), you should contact this office immediately for a free consultation to discuss your options.
Call today for a free consultation. If you think your employer is discriminating against you, you should contact this office immediately for a free consultation. I have represented public and private employees who were illegally discriminated against and was successful in recovering financial compensation for their emotional pain and suffering and moneys for lost wages, both for past lost wages and projected future lost wages. If you think your employer is illegally discriminating against you, you should contact this office immediately for a free consultation. I accept discrimination cases from all over New Jersey and have locations in Southern, Central and Northern NJ to meet with clients.
Hope A. Lang, Attorney at Law represents workers throughout the entire state, including Hackensack, Jersey City, Newark, Irvington, Orange, East Orange, Trenton, Paterson, Montclair, Elizabeth, North Brunswick, Cherry Hill, Vineland, Union, Plainfield, Hamilton Township, Lakewood, Edison, Parsippany-Troy Hills, Franklin, Lakewood, and every NJ County, including Bergen, Hudson, Middlesex, Essex, Monmouth, Somerset, Ocean, Union, Camden, Passaic, Morris, Gloucester, Atlantic, Burlington, Camden Counties.