January 26, 2026

New Jersey Expands Family Leave and Job Protections

On January 17, 2026, Governor Murphy signed legislation that will expand New Jersey’s Family Leave Act and provide job protections for employees on disability or family leave. The changes are scheduled to go into effect in six months.

Expanded Eligibility Under the NJ Family Leave Act

Under New Jersey’s current Family Leave Act, employees who work for an employer with at least 30 employees are eligible for family leave after 12 months if they worked at least 1,000 hours in the 12 months preceding the leave.

Under the amended law, employees who work for an employer with at least 15 employees will be eligible for family leave after 3 months if they worked at least 250 hours in the months preceding the leave.

New Job Protections

The new law will provide job protection for employees who take disability or family leave and take benefits under the state’s Temporary Disability Insurance (“TDI”) and Family Leave Insurance (“FLI”) programs. The employees will be entitled to be restored to their position or to an equivalent position after their leave, and will retain any rights under any collective bargaining agreement.

Flexibility in Using Paid Leave Benefits

The new law will allow employees who are eligible for both earned sick leave and TDI or FLI to decide which benefits to take and the order in which to take them. Employees may not receive more than one paid benefit for the same period of leave.

How Book Law Can Help

Book Law assists employers in drafting and updating their policies to comply with federal and state leave laws. If you need policies or have questions about the leave laws, please reach out to Chaim Book at cbook@booklawllp.com, Sheryl Galler at sgaller@booklawllp.com, Rebecca Nathanson at rnathanson@booklawllp.com, or Jared Nossen at jnossen@booklawllp.com.