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.