Effective July 17, 2026, amendments to the New Jersey Family Leave Act (“NJFLA”) will significantly expand family leave protections for employees across New Jersey.
While the NJFLA has long provided job-protected leave for certain family-related needs, the upcoming changes will broaden both who is covered and who qualifies and will also introduce important new considerations for employers managing employee absences. These developments will affect a significant number of businesses across all industries—not just larger employers—and therefore warrant employers to conduct a careful review of existing leave policies and practices.
Lowering of Thresholds
Currently, an employer must have 30 or more employees for NJFLA to apply. Under the amended law, NJFLA will apply to employers with 15 or more employees, as defined under N.J.S.A. 34:11B-3. For many smaller organizations, this change means NJFLA obligations will apply for the first time. Employers should take a fresh look at how they count employees, including part-time staff, to determine whether they will now fall within the law’s coverage.
The amendments also make it easier for employees to qualify for leave. To be eligible, an employee must:
- Have worked for the employer for at least three months, and
- Have completed at least 250 hours of service during the prior 12 months.
This is a substantial shift from the current requirement of 12 months and 1,000 hours. As a practical matter, employees who are newer to a company or working reduced schedules may now be entitled to job-protected leave.
Reinstatement and Job Protection: A Key Development in New Jersey Temporary Disability Insurance and Family Leave Insurance Benefits
NJFLA has long provided job protection for employees who take qualifying leave. In general, an employee returning from NJFLA leave must be restored to:
- The same position held before the leave; or
- An equivalent position with like pay, benefits, seniority, status, and other terms and conditions of employment.
There are, as before, limits to this obligation. Employers are not required to reinstate an employee if:
- The employee would have been affected by a layoff or reduction in force regardless of the leave;
- The employee would have been terminated for legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons; or
- The employee does not return at the end of the approved leave period or remains out beyond their protected leave entitlement.
What is new—and particularly important—is how job protection may now interact with certain of New Jersey’s paid leave programs.
Historically, the State’s Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) and Family Leave Insurance (FLI) programs have provided sources of wage replacement for qualifying employees but did not, on their own, guarantee job reinstatement rights. Under the amendments, employees who receive benefits through these programs may also be entitled to job protection.
This change could be interpreted to mean that an employee’s absence may be protected if they are receiving TDI or FLI benefits, even if it is not formally labeled as “NJFLA leave.” Employers should therefore look beyond the terminology used and consider whether an employee receiving TDI or FLI benefits may be entitled to reinstatement under NJFLA.
Conclusion
The 2026 amendments reflect a continued shift toward broader employee leave protections in New Jersey. By lowering eligibility thresholds, extending coverage to smaller employers, and potentially linking job protection more closely with state-paid leave benefits, NJFLA will apply to a wider range of workplaces and situations.
For employers, the takeaway is straightforward: policies and practices that may have been sufficient in the past may no longer be adequate. Given this, employers should take the following steps:
- Review and update leave and employee handbook policies;
- Train supervisors and HR personnel on the revised eligibility standards and job protection rules;
- Ensure systems are in place to track leave, including potential overlap with state benefit programs like TDI and FLI; and
- Coordinate NJFLA obligations with other applicable leave laws, including federal requirements.