News & Resources
News & Resources
On January 18, 2026, Governor Murphy signed A3451/S2960 into law, which significantly expands the New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA). The NJFLA requires up to 12 weeks of unpaid job‑protected family leave in a 24‑month period for eligible employees. Effective July 17, 2026, the law lowers the “covered employer” threshold, reduces employee eligibility requirements, and adds job protection consequences tied to Temporary Disability Insurances (TDI) and Family Leave Insurance (FLI) benefits. Previously, only employers who employed more than 30 employees were covered under the NJFLA. Now, employers who employ more than 15 employees (including those out of state) are covered by the law. Similarly, while employees previously had to work 12 months and 1,000 hours to qualify, employees can now qualify for benefits after just 3 months of employment and 250 base hours worked in the preceding 12 months. Lastly, those receiving TDI or FLI are afforded job protections that they did not have before and must be restored to their position or an equivalent position.
The expansion of NJFLA benefits will apply to roughly 400,000 additional employees than before. As such, effected employers, especially smaller ones, may face more frequent and less predictable staffing gaps as more employees become eligible for leave sooner. Employers will need to develop plans to handle the strain on staffing requirements, while ensuring compliance with job-protection laws. Failure to do so can expose employers to legal risk from employees who are not reinstated after their leave.
To ensure compliance with the new NJFLA requirements, employers should follow three main steps:
