What You Need to Know
- More Employers Covered: Starting July 2026, employers with as few as 15 employees will be covered, phasing down to five employees by 2028, bringing many small and mid-sized businesses under the New Jersey Family Leave Act for the first time.
- Lower Employee Eligibility Threshold: The minimum employment period drops from 12 months to three months, and required hours worked decreases from 1,000 to 250, making far more employees eligible for protected leave.
- New Job Restoration Rights: Employers must now restore employees who take temporary disability or family leave insurance benefits to the same or an equivalent position.
On January 16, 2026, outgoing New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law Assembly Bill 3451 (A3451), which significantly expands the coverage of the New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA) by bringing many more employers and employees within its reach.
While the law does not take effect until July 17, 2026, its impact will be substantial, particularly for small and mid-sized employers that were previously exempt. Now is the time for employers to understand what has changed and begin preparing.
The Current NJFLA Landscape
Under the NJFLA, eligible employees are entitled to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave during a 24-month period for qualifying family-related reasons. Currently, the law applies to employees who work for an employer with 30 or more employees worldwide, provided the employee has been employed for at least one year and has worked 1,000 or more hours during the preceding 12 months.
NJFLA leave may be used to bond with a new child following birth, adoption, or foster placement, so long as the leave begins within one year of the child’s arrival. The law also permits leave to care for a family member—or an individual who is the equivalent of family—who has a serious health condition. In certain circumstances tied to a declared state of emergency, eligible employees may also take leave to care for a family member who has been isolated or quarantined due to suspected exposure to a communicable disease.
In addition, the NJFLA allows leave when an employee must provide required care or treatment for a child whose school or place of care has been closed by order of a public official due to an epidemic or other public health emergency. Notably, unlike the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, the NJFLA does not provide leave for the employee’s own serious health condition.
Employees may take leave as a continuous block of time or on an intermittent or reduced schedule, depending on the qualifying reason for leave and operational needs.
Employees who take NJFLA leave are entitled to be reinstated to the same position they held prior to leave, or an equivalent position, upon their return to work. The law also strictly prohibits employers from retaliating against an employee for requesting or taking NJFLA-protected leave.
Key Changes Under A3451
Expansion of Employer and Employee Coverage
The most significant change under A3451 is the expansion of employer and employee coverage. Beginning July 17, 2026, New Jersey will phase in employer coverage based on employee headcount as follows:
- June 30, 2019 – July 16, 2026: employers with 30 or more employees will be covered;
- July 17, 2026 – July 16, 2027: employers with 15 or more employees will be covered;
- July 17, 2027 – July 16, 2028: employers with 10 or more employees will be covered; and
- As of July 17, 2028: employers with five or more employees will be covered.
In addition, the law significantly reduces the employee eligibility requirements by lowering: (1) the minimum length of employment from 12 months to three months; and (2) hours worked from 1,000 to 250 hours within the immediately preceding 12-month period.
This shift dramatically increases the number of covered employers and employees, including new hires and part-time employees, and introduces new compliance obligations for businesses that have never had to administer NJFLA leave before.
Job Restoration Rights for Employees Using Temporary Disability or Family Leave Insurance Benefits
A3451 also provides job restoration rights for employees who take temporary disability insurance (TDI) or family leave insurance (FLI) benefits. It requires employers to reinstate covered employees, at the end of their leave, to the same position they held before the leave began or to an equivalent position with the same seniority, status, pay, benefits, and terms and conditions of employment. In addition, employees returning from leave must be treated as if they had never taken leave for purposes of any layoff or recall system, including those governed by a collective bargaining agreement. While A3451 emphasizes that these rights do not expand, limit, or modify any rights already provided under the “Family Leave Act,” the amendments could be interpreted to grant job-protected leave to any employee receiving TDI or FLI benefits when the employee is not on NJFLA leave.
Coordination of Paid Leave Benefits
A3451 also provides employees the right to elect overlapping paid leave benefits under New Jersey law. When an employee is eligible for both earned sick leave and either TDI or FLI leave benefits, the employee has the option of using sick leave or TDI or FLI benefits. The employee may also determine the sequence in which the different types of paid benefits are taken, but the statute prohibits the concurrent use of earned sick leave and TDI or FLI benefits. As a result, employees may be precluded from topping off TDI or FLI benefits with sick leave to receive their full wages for a given day.
What Employers Should Do Now
- Evaluate whether the organization will be covered by NJFLA for the first time under the new phased-in employee thresholds.
- Review and update employee handbooks, leave policies, and internal procedures to reflect expanded coverage and reinstatement obligations.
- Train Human Resources professionals and managers on how to handle leave requests consistently and in compliance with the amended law.
- Review payroll and leave-tracking systems to ensure paid and unpaid leave benefits are properly coordinated.
- Communicate proactively with employees about expanded leave rights to set expectations and reduce confusion ahead of the effective date.
- Monitor the New Jersey Division of Civil Rights for any forthcoming guidance or regulatory developments that may further clarify A3451.
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For additional information about the issues discussed in this Insight, please contact the attorney(s) listed on this page or the Epstein Becker Green Employment, Labor & Workforce Management attorney who regularly handles your legal matters.
Staff Attorney Elizabeth Ledkovsky contributed to the preparation of this Insight.
