This blog will provide timely commentary on developments in New Jersey employment and workplace law, including legislative and regulatory changes, key court decisions and evolving workplace issues. Its purpose is to offer clear, practical insights that help readers understand how legal developments may impact employers and the workplace.

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On May 4, 2026, the New Jersey Appellate Division, in a published opinion, prohibited successive motions for reconsideration of a final order. In the case, Doglio v. Boasso Am. Corp., the trial court granted the defendant’s motion for summary judgment, disposing of all claims as to all parties. The plaintiff filed a motion for reconsideration under Court Rule 4:49-2 within twenty days of the grant of summary judgment, which the trial court subsequently denied. After the denial of the motion for reconsideration and with nothing pending, the trial court sua sponte reconsidered the grant of summary judgment as well as its denial of the motion for reconsideration. As a result, the trial court reinstated the matter for trial.

The Appellate Division, in reversing the trial court, held that a motion for reconsideration of a final order must be filed within twenty days of that order under Rule 4:49-2. Once a motion for reconsideration of a final order is denied, neither the trial court, on its own initiative, nor a party may take any action to vacate that final order. The opinion also clarified that the denial of a motion for reconsideration does not create a “new final judgment” subject to reconsideration under Rule 4:49-2.

The opinion focused on the principles favoring a policy of finality in summary judgment orders. Specifically, the Appellate Division cautioned that “[a]llowing a never-ending sequence of motions for reconsideration jeopardizes that policy and undermines the finality Rule 4:49-2 was designed to secure.”

The Doglio opinion firmly establishes the principle that “repetitive bites at the apple” swiftly sour the core. In this precedential opinion, the Appellate Division’s holding will limit the extent of post final-judgment motion practice and provide finality to parties.

New Jersey employers should begin preparing for significant amendments to the New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA), which are scheduled to take effect on July 17, 2026.

The amendments broaden both employer coverage and employee eligibility:

  • Private employers with at least 15 employees during the relevant workweeks will be covered, lowering the current 30-employee threshold.
  • Employees will become eligible much sooner:
    • The service requirement will drop from 12 months to three months, and
    • The hours-worked requirement will drop from 1,000 base hours to 250 base hours during the immediately preceding 12-month period.

Employers Most Likely Affected

These changes are especially important for smaller employers and out-of-state employers with New Jersey-based employees. A business that previously was not covered by the NJFLA may need to comply once the amendments take effect.

Impact on TDI + FLI Benefits

The amendments also raise important questions regarding New Jersey Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) and Family Leave Insurance (FLI) benefits.

  • The new statutory language provides that employees who take TDI or FLI benefits are entitled, upon expiration of the leave, to be restored to the position they held when leave began or to an equivalent position with like seniority, status, benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment.
    • This language may significantly expand job-protection obligations for employers, although questions remain as to whether the amendments create new leave rights or add job-protection requirements to existing leave and benefit rights.
  • The amendments also clarify that employees who are eligible for New Jersey Earned Sick Leave and TDI or FLI benefits may choose the order in which to use those benefits but may not receive more than one kind of paid leave simultaneously for the same period.

What to Do Now

  • Employers with New Jersey employees should begin preparing now to review and update leave policies, handbooks, HR procedures, and manager training.
  • Employers also should consider how the amended NJFLA will interact with FMLA, PTO policies, New Jersey Earned Sick Leave, TDI, FLI, benefits continuation, and COBRA administration.

We are actively assisting clients with updating policies, procedures, and training on the NJFLA amendments before their effective date to help reduce compliance risk and minimize operational disruption once the expanded family leave protections take effect.