New Jersey Expands the Family Leave Act: What Employers Need to Know Before July 2026

New Jersey Expands Family Leave Act 

On January 17, 2026, then-governor Phil Murphy signed A-3451/S-2950, which significantly expands the applicability of the New Jersey Family Leave Act (“NJFLA”). Specifically, the new law requires NJ employers with 15 or more employees (previously 30 or more) will be required to provide 12 weeks of family leave to employees. The law also shortened the amount of time an employee needs to work prior to being eligible to take leave under the NJFLA. Under the new law, employees who have been employed by the employer for at least three months and have worked at least 250 hours during the immediately preceding 12-month period will be eligible to take leave.   

In addition the new law will require employers to restore the employee to the position they held when the leave commenced or to an equivalent position upon their return from leave. This change is applicable to any covered individual regardless of whether they took any temporary disability benefits (TDI), which is available to employees taking leave due to their own serious medical condition, or family temporary disability leave benefits (FLI), which is available to employees to care for a family member.  

The new law also specifies that in cases in which the employee is eligible for both earned sick leave and either TDI or FLI benefits, the employee may choose the order in which the benefits are taken, but they are prohibited from taking more than one benefit at the same time.  

Employer Next Steps 

Covered employers should evaluate their current leave policies and procedures to ensure they are prepared to comply by the effective date. If you are now subject to the NJFLA due to this expansion, consider working with a third party to determine next steps.  

The new law will be effective July 17, 2026, so employers are only given around six months to review and amend their leave policies prior to the effective date.