The New Jersey Employment Law Firm Blog
On January 17, 2026, Governor Phil Murphy signed Assembly Bill A3451/Senate Bill S2950 — Expanded Family Leave Eligibility, enacting a historic expansion of the New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA). This is a game-changing victory for employees who, until now, may have been unprotected.
Expanding Employee Eligibility
A major exception in the NJFLA previously left workers at smaller companies and those who have been with their company for less than one year unprotected. Effective July 17, 2026, the law will apply to all employers with 15 or more employees, significantly expanding the pool of eligible New Jersey workers. Furthermore, under the new bill, New Jersey employees will no longer have to wait a full year for their protected leave rights to kick in; eligibility will now begin after just three months on the job and 250 base hours worked during the immediately preceding twelve-month period.
Expanding Protected Leave Scope and Duration
In a major departure from previous law, New Jersey will now provide job protection for an employee’s own serious health condition so long as they apply for and receive either temporary disability benefits pursuant to P.L.1948, c.110 (C.43:21-25 et al.) or family temporary disability leave benefits pursuant to P.L.2008, c.17 (C.43:21-39.1 et al.). Covered employees will be entitled to be restored to their original position or an equivalent position upon the expiration of their leave. While federal law (FMLA) caps medical leave at 12 weeks, this state expansion links job protection to the duration of Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) benefits, guaranteeing up to 26 weeks of job-protected medical leave. Because in certain situations employees are permitted to tack FLA leave and FMLA leave, employees can now be eligible for up to 38 weeks of protected job leave.
New Causes of Action
Under the new statute, if an employer tries to “interfere with, restrain, or deny” your Expanded Family Leave Eligibility rights, you now have a private cause of action. Furthermore, if an employer harasses, threatens, or discriminates against you for requesting or taking leave (i.e., engages in retaliation), you also now have a private cause of action. Lastly, the new law allows the courts to impose a civil fine assessment of up to $2,000 for a first violation and up to $5,000 for each subsequent violation if your employer tries to penalize you for taking time off to care for yourself or a loved one.
At the Resnick Law Group, we are ready to use these new tools to fight for you. If you’ve been denied leave or faced consequences for taking time off, contact us today at (973) 781-1204 for a consultation.