Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper, P.C. Firm News & Events
In January 2026, New Jersey enacted significant amendments to the New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA), expanding coverage to smaller businesses, reducing the waiting periods for eligible employees to qualify for leave, and creating new job restoration rights. Of the expansion, the job reinstatement piece created significant confusion particularly with respect to employees who are collecting Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) and Family Leave Insurance (FLI) benefits and their rights to job restoration, if any, when ineligible for NJFLA or Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) unpaid leave.
Just two days before the effective date, however, the New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development issued an announcement to address this confusion. Specifically, the July 15, 2026 announcement clarified that employers must provide eligible employees with up to 26 weeks of job protection while employees are collecting TDI benefits and up to 12 weeks of job protection while collecting FLI benefits. This clarification has created significant concern among business owners, particularly small business owners, who must now provide job-protected leave to those employees that are not yet eligible for NJFLA or FMLA unpaid leave, including newly hired employees.
Reduction of Eligibility Requirements Under the NJFLA
The amendments extended the scope of NJFLA by reducing eligibility requirements as follows: lowering the employer-size threshold from thirty (30) to fifteen (15) employees; reducing the employment-duration requirement from twelve (12) months to three (3) months; and decreasing the hours-worked requirement from 1,000 to 250 hours. Effective July 17, 2026, employees who meet these expanded requirements may take up to twelve (12) weeks of unpaid job-protected leave for qualifying reasons under the Act.
Confirmation of Job Protection for TDI/FLI Benefit Recipients
Both New Jersey TDI and FLI benefits have historically been deemed wage-replacement programs and do not, by themselves, guarantee reinstatement rights. That is because the New Jersey Temporary Disability Law does not contain any express provision for leave benefits.
However, the recent NJFLA amendments, as clarified by the NJDOL July 15, 2026 announcement, made certain that employees receiving state or private plan TDI or FLI benefits are now eligible for job protection. Moreover, unlike job protection under the NJFLA or FMLA, there are no employer size or employee tenure requirements to be eligible for job protection while receiving TDI or FLI benefits. Eligibility depends solely on recent earnings sufficient to qualify for TDI or FLI benefits.
Under the new framework, employees receiving TDI or FLI benefits now have the right to return to their same position – or one with equivalent pay, benefits, seniority, and terms of employment – when their leave ends, so long as the employee’s leave is not already covered under the NJFLA or the FMLA. In theory, provided an employee qualifies for TDI and FLI, employers of any size may now be required to provide up to thirty-eight (38) weeks of job-protected leave in a single year before that employee even becomes eligible for leave under the NJFLA or FMLA.
Planning for Post-July 17, 2026 Next Steps
By recategorizing TDI and FLI benefits as job-protected leave, as opposed to solely wage replacement programs, these amendments are likely to create significant operational challenges for businesses across the state. Our office will continue to monitor this legislation, and any guidance issues by the NJDOL, to further clarify the scope of this law and its potential impact on business owners, particularly those who were formerly exempt from protected leave obligations. For now, employers of all sizes should take measures to align their practices and policies with these new requirements, including updating any Employee Handbooks, to ensure compliance.
If you have any questions regarding the July 17, 2026 amendments to the NJFLA, please contact the Labor & Employment Group at Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper, P.C.