More NJ workers are now eligible for family leave job protections

Thousands of New Jersey employers will have to provide protected family leave beginning Friday under an expansion of the state’s family leave law signed by then-Gov. Phil Murphy shortly before he left office in January.

The change expands the number of companies that must comply with the New Jersey Family Leave Act and decreases the amount of time it takes for an employee to become eligible for the law’s job protections.

The law gives workers who take family leave the right to return to their same job, or one with the same pay, benefits, seniority, and other terms of employment, upon their return. State officials estimate another 400,000 will gain protections as a result of the changes that take effect Friday.

“No one should have to choose between caring for themselves or a loved one and keeping their job,” acting Labor Commissioner Kevin D. Jarvis said in a statement. “These changes strengthen one of New Jersey’s most important worker protections by ensuring more people can take the time they need with the confidence that their job will be there when they return.”

The law provides 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave over a two-year period for workers bonding with a new child, responding to a health emergency, or caring for a seriously ill family member. It does not cover an employee’s own illness, which falls under a separate program.

The law previously captured businesses with at least 30 employees. Under the changes taking effect Friday, companies with 15 or more workers companywide must provide family leave.

The change also loosens rules on who qualifies. Previously, workers needed to be on the job for a full year and have worked at least 1,000 hours. Under the new rules, workers are eligible once they have worked for three months and 250 hours. Officials said this change will protect more part-time employees and recent hires.

Although the leave is unpaid, some employees can be eligible for partial wages via state Family Leave Insurance, which guarantees up to 85% of their weekly pay, to a cap of $1,119 in 2026.

The July 17 change is the first of three scheduled steps to expand the law. The employee threshold drops to 10 or more workers July 17, 2027, and to five or more workers July 17, 2028.

Business groups had opposed the change, warning that expanding family leave eligibility could make New Jersey small businesses less competitive.