Paid Family and Medical Leave: New Jersey

This Paid Family and Medical Leave policy explains how New Jersey's Family Leave Insurance (FLI) program works, including who may qualify, how payroll deductions fund the benefit, how employees apply through the state, and what job protection may (and may not) apply depending on whether leave is also covered by the New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA) and/or the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). It's designed to help your organization set clear expectations, share required state information, and support employees who need time away to bond with a new child, care for a family member with a serious health condition, address needs related to domestic or sexual violence, or respond to certain public health emergency situations, while staying aligned with New Jersey's family leave rules and notice guidance.

The History Behind Paid Family and Medical Leave Policies in New Jersey

This Paid Family and Medical Leave policy sits in the Family & Self Care Leaves topic for a simple reason: New Jersey decided that time away to care for family shouldn't automatically mean a paycheck goes to zero. The state built Family Leave Insurance (FLI) as a wage-replacement program run through the Division of Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance, funded by employee payroll deductions and governed by detailed state rules. That design choice matters for employers because it separates "who pays" (the state) from "who manages the workplace leave" (you, under your attendance, scheduling, and leave processes).

FLI grew out of New Jersey's older Temporary Disability Insurance system and expanded the idea from "you're sick" to "your family needs you," first for bonding and caregiving, and later for situations lawmakers didn't want employers or employees to have to improvise around, like domestic or sexual violence-related needs under the NJ SAFE Act and certain public health emergency caregiving scenarios. Over time, the state also kept tuning the mechanics that employers feel day-to-day, like intermittent leave options, annual contribution rates, and the weekly benefit cap, plus the required employee notice that explains rights and how to apply.

Here's the part that still trips people up: FLI is pay, not job protection. New Jersey kept job restoration and benefits continuation primarily in a different bucket, the New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA), which has its own eligibility rules and enforcement scheme. That split is why a New Jersey employee can qualify for state-paid benefits even when they don't yet qualify for NJFLA job protection, and why employers have to think in layers, FLI for wage replacement, NJFLA (and sometimes FMLA) for job protection, and your internal leave policy for how employees give notice and coordinate time away.

Which Law is the Paid Family and Medical Leave Policy Meant to Comply With?

If you create and distribute a Paid Family and Medical Leave Policy for your New Jersey-based employees, it is in an effort to comply with New Jersey's New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA) and New Jersey's Temporary Disability Benefits and Family Leave Insurance regulations (N.J.A.C. 12:21), including related notice requirements (see the state's Family Leave Insurance notice).

How to Write a New Jersey-Specific Paid Family and Medical Leave Policy

• Start with "why" and introduce the concept, explain that New Jersey Family Leave Insurance (FLI) is a state-run paid benefit that can replace wages during certain family and medical leaves.
• Define who's covered, focus on New Jersey workers who pay into the program through payroll deductions and meet the state's earnings rules, with eligibility decided by the state at application.
• List the qualifying reasons for leave, including bonding with a new child, caring for a family member with a serious health condition, SAFE Act-related needs, and certain public health emergency caregiving situations.
• Explain how the program is funded, clarify that employees fund FLI through payroll deductions set by the state and your organization doesn't contribute.
• Summarize what the benefit provides, describe that the state pays a wage-replacement benefit and leave can be taken continuously or intermittently.
• Describe how employees apply, direct employees to apply to the state with supporting documentation and note that your organization can't require an employee to apply.
• Include claim administration guardrails, note that employees can appeal state determinations and that fraud can lead to disqualification.
• Explain job protection and benefits continuation, distinguish between wage replacement under FLI and job and benefits protections that may apply under the New Jersey Family Leave Act.
• Address coordination with federal leave, explain that leave may run concurrently with federal FMLA when both apply.
• Explain pay coordination options, allow employees to use available paid time off to supplement the state benefit for fuller wage replacement.
• Clarify what doesn't continue during leave, state that employees don't accrue seniority or additional employment benefits during the leave beyond what they'd otherwise have.
• State non-interference and anti-retaliation expectations, commit that your organization won't interfere with FLI rights or retaliate for using them and provide an internal point of contact for concerns.

When to Include this Policy in Your Employee Handbook

If you have employees in New Jersey and you don't have a similar policy that's available for all US employees, you should include this policy in your employee handbook for New Jersey-based employees. 

The law states: 

N.J.A.C. 12:21-2.1(a) provides: "Each employer shall conspicuously post and maintain, in a place or places accessible to all employees in each of the employer's workplaces, a notice of employees' rights under the Temporary Disability Benefits Law and the Family Leave Insurance program, in a form prescribed by the Division."

Your employee handbook qualifies. 

Other Considerations

The law applies to New Jersey employers who have at least 1 employee in the US.

Exceptions

None.