New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA)

New Jersey offers one of the nation's most robust systems of leave protections, combining job-protected leave with paid wage replacement through multiple overlapping programs. The New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA) currently provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for employees of employers with 30 or more employees to care for a family member with a serious health condition or to bond with a new child. Effective July 17, 2026, A3451 phases down the NJFLA employer threshold to 15 employees, then to 10 (July 2027) and 5 (July 2028), and reduces the eligibility requirement to just 3 months of employment and 250 hours worked.

On the wage replacement side, New Jersey's Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) program provides up to 26 weeks of benefits (up to 85% of average weekly wage, max $1,119/week in 2026) for workers who cannot work due to their own non-work-related illness or injury, including mental health conditions. TDI has a 7-day waiting period before benefits begin. The Family Leave Insurance (FLI) program provides up to 12 weeks of benefits at the same rate for caregiving, bonding, or matters related to domestic or sexual violence. FLI has no waiting period. TDI is funded by both employee and employer payroll contributions. FLI is funded entirely by employee payroll deductions.

Covered family members under NJFLA and FLI include your child, spouse, civil union partner, domestic partner, parent, parent-in-law, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, or any individual related by blood or whose close association with you is the equivalent of a family relationship.

A3451 also creates new job restoration rights for TDI and FLI recipients effective July 17, 2026, requiring employers to reinstate employees returning from TDI or FLI leave to the same or equivalent position.

The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) provides critical additional protections by prohibiting disability discrimination, including discrimination based on mental health conditions, with no minimum employer size. Even employees of the smallest employers are protected from discrimination based on a mental health disability and entitled to reasonable accommodations.

Your employer must continue your group health insurance during NJFLA leave on the same terms as if you were still working. New Jersey also requires mental health parity in insurance coverage, ensuring that insurance plans cover mental health services on equal terms with physical health services.