NJFLA eligibility requirements and who is covered

Coverage under New Jersey’s state leave law is not available to all employees. In order to be eligible, workers must meet the following criteria:

• Worked for the same employer for 12 months
• Worked at least 1,000 hours during the 12 months that preceded the leave’s start date
• Work for a company that has at least 50 employees

The state’s law requires that workers have worked fewer hours than the federal law requires. Under the federal FMLA, workers must have worked at least 1,250 hours during the preceding 12 months. The state’s law is also more comprehensive regarding covered employers. Under federal law, covered employers must have at least 50 employees who work within a 75-mile radius. New Jersey’s law does not have the radius requirement.

NJFLA leave and what is covered

The state’s family leave law is meant to help people to balance their careers and their families’ medical or personal needs without worrying about their jobs. Employees are able to request leave under the state’s family leave law in order to get ready for a new child’s birth, to bond with a new child, to complete the necessary tasks for adoption or foster care placement, or to care for a spouse, child, parent or partner who is suffering from a serious health condition. The state’s law does not allow people to take leave to care for their own serious health conditions, but eligible employees may take leave to do so under the FMLA if their employers are also covered by that law.

Paid family leave

New Jersey also has the Paid Family Leave Act, which gives eligible employees up to six weeks of paid time off from work in order to care for their newborn children or newly adopted children within 12 months of when they are placed in the employees’ homes. People may also take up to six weeks of paid leave to care for a family member who is suffering from a serious health condition. Under the act, employees are paid 2/3 of their salaries with the total amount payable to be capped at $524 per week. Eligible workers must have earned at least $142 per week for 20 weeks in a row or at least $7,250 in the preceding 52 weeks. The only eligible employees for paid leave under the act are parents, step-parents, adoptive parents and foster parents for taking leave to care for new children. For employees who wish to take leave to care for a family member, the family member must be the child, parent, spouse or partner of the employee.

For situations in which an employee’s reason for requesting leave qualifies under both the federal and state law, the employer must follow the law that offers the most benefit to the employee. If a worker takes leave under the federal FMLA for his or her own serious health condition, he or she may still take 12 weeks worth of leave under the state law for a different reason since the state’s law doesn’t protect workers who take leave to care for themselves. People who have questions about the varying overlapping leave laws in New Jersey might want to consult with the employment law attorneys at Swartz Swidler.