On January 17, 2026, during his final weekend as New Jersey’s governor, Phil Murphy signed into law an expansion of the New Jersey Family Leave Act (“NJFLA”). Under this expansion, New Jersey family leave has broadened in three distinct ways: (1) the NJFLA’s coverage threshold is reduced from 30 employees to 15; (2) the minimum length of employment to qualify for leave is reduced from twelve months to three months; and (3) the minimum hours needed to qualify is reduced from 1,000 hours over 12 months to 250 hours over the prior three months.
These changes have significant consequences for covered employers. Not only do these amendments allow the NJFLA to apply to smaller employers, but employees qualify sooner as well. Ultimately, the new law extends protections to more than 400,000 additional New Jersey state workers. As former Governor Murphy stated, “[B]y amending the eligibility requirement for job protected leave, we are ensuring newer employees, and employees of small businesses, are not excluded from the protections of the New Jersey Family Leave Act.”
To all eligible employees, the NJFLA provides up to twelve (12) weeks of job-protected leave every twenty-four (24) months to care for a seriously ill family member, or bond with a new child through birth, adoption, or foster placement. Unlike the federal Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), the NJFLA does not apply to the employee’s own serious health condition. The new law also ensures that a covered employer restore an eligible employee to the same or equivalent positions upon an employee’s return.
The new revisions also coordinate New Jersey’s Earned Sick Leave Law with the state’s Temporary Disability Insurance (“TDI”) and Family Leave Insurance (“FLI”) programs. For example, if an employee is eligible for statutory earned sick leave and either TDI or FLI, the employee has the ability to control not only the leave they wish to use, but the order in which they do so.
How should employers respond? Employers should consider several steps in advance of the effective date of the new law, which is July 17, 2026. First, employers can start by simply take a headcount of the number of employees hired at one’s company to see if the new thresholds will apply. Next, employers should consider updating their employee handbooks to account for the revised NJFLA requirements. Employers should also train their managers on reinstatement obligations.
Please reach out to Brown & Connery to further discuss these new amendments and for additional employment consultation and guidance. Brown & Connery also offers a wide array of training options to assist your workplace in understanding these requirements.
By: Lauren M. Greenwald, Associate at Brown & Connery, LLP