New Jersey Expands Family Leave Law

Author: Michael Cardman, Brightmine Senior Legal Editor

January 21, 2026

Major changes are coming soon to New Jersey's unpaid family leave law.

The New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA) allows eligible employees of covered employers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid job-protected leave during a 24-month period to care for a family member or someone equivalent.

Signed into law on January 17, Assembly Bill 3451 amends the NJFLA to expand employee eligibility and employer coverage. It also will strengthen employee reinstatement rights under New Jersey's temporary disability leave and paid family leave law.

It will take effect six months after its passage, which is projected to be July 17, 2026.

  Current Law Amended Law

Employee Eligibility

Employees are eligible for NJFLA leave if they have:
  • Worked for a covered employer for at least 12 months; and
  • Worked at least 1,000 base hours during the immediately preceding 12-month period.
  • Worked for a covered employer for at least three months; and
  • Worked at least 250 base hours during the immediately preceding 12-month period.

Employer Coverage

Employers in New Jersey are covered under the NJFLA if they:

Employ 30 or more employees for each working day during each of 20 or more workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year.

Employ 15 or more employees for each working day during each of 20 or more workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year.

Former New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, who signed the bill into law, estimated that more than 400,000 additional workers will be eligible for family leave under the amendments.

"By reducing the amount of time someone has to be on the job before becoming eligible for family leave, this legislation recognizes the realities of today's workforce and makes sure more parents can care for and bond with their newborn without fearing they'll lose their job," said the bill's author, Assemblyman Craig Coughlin. "No one should be penalized for needing time to care, and this bill helps make sure the vast majority of workers never will."

AB 3451 also amends New Jersey's temporary disability leave and paid family leave law to clarify employee reinstatement rights. It provides that an employee who took any temporary disability benefits or paid family leave is entitled to reinstatement to the same or an equivalent position with like seniority, status, benefits, pay and other terms and conditions of employment. The employee will 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.

The amendments to the temporary disability leave and paid family leave law also provide that employees may use paid family leave, earned sick leave and temporary disability benefits in any order. But employees may not receive more than one kind of paid leave simultaneously during any period of time.