Key points
- NJFLA expansion effective July 17, 2026. The 2026 Amendments lower the employer-size threshold from 30 to 15 employees. They also ease eligibility to three months’ tenure and 250 base hours in the prior 12 months.
- New reinstatement and anti-retaliation risks tied to TDI/FLI. The law adds a standalone reinstatement right for employees who receive Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) or Family Leave Insurance (FLI) benefits.
- Immediate compliance. Employers should quickly update policies, train managers on reinstatement/anti-retaliation, reconfigure timekeeping for “base hours” and prepare notices.
Before leaving office, outgoing Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation that materially expanded the New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA).
Bill A-3451/ S-2950, signed on Jan. 17, 2026, lowered the employer-size coverage threshold, accelerated employee tenure eligibility, and significantly reduced the hours-worked standard (the 2026 Amendments). The 2026 Amendments also appear to create robust reinstatement rights and strengthen anti-retaliation remedies tied to employees’ use of Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) and Family Temporary Disability Benefits (FLI). The law takes effect July 17, 2026.
Background
The NJFLA provides eligible employees of covered employers with up to twelve weeks of job-protected, unpaid family leave in a 24‑month period to bond with a new child or care for a family member with a serious health condition. Prior to the 2026 Amendments, coverage generally applied to employers with thirty or more employees. Employees became eligible after at least twelve months of service and 1,000 hours worked in the preceding twelve months.
Material Changes
Employer Size Threshold
As a result of the 2026 Amendments, the employer size threshold under NJFLA is reduced from thirty to fifteen employees, extending statutory coverage to smaller employers for periods after July 17, 2026. Earlier proposals contemplated additional phased reductions below fifteen employees (to ten employees one year later and five employees two years later), but those phased reductions were removed from the final 2026 Amendments. Employers should treat fifteen employees as the operative threshold unless and until future legislation revisits further reductions in employer size. Be sure to monitor forthcoming agency materials for any related posting updates.
Employee Eligibility
The 2026 Amendments have also eased the employee eligibility standards in two key ways: (1) the tenure requirement drops from twelve months to three months of employment; and (2) the hours-worked requirement is reduced from 1,000 to 250 base hours during the immediately preceding 12-month period.[1]
Anti-Retaliation Under FLI and TDI
Unlike NJFLA, FLI and TDI do not have any employer size requirements. Any employee who is on unpaid leave (statutorily required or not) may seek wage replacement benefits through these benefit programs.
The 2026 Amendments create an anti-retaliation provision regarding reinstatement that clashes with the employer size thresholds under the NJFLA.
As enacted, the 2026 Amendments provide, in relevant part:
Any covered individual who took any 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.), shall, upon the expiration of the leave, be entitled to be restored by the employer to the position held by the employee when the leave commenced or to an equivalent position of like seniority, status, employment benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment, except that nothing in this section or any section of P.L.2008, c.17 (C.43:21-39.1 et al.) shall be construed as increasing, reducing or otherwise modifying any entitlement provided to a worker by the provisions of the "Family Leave Act," P.L.1989, c.261 (C.34:11B-1 et seq.) to be restored to employment by the employer after a period of family temporary disability leave. The employee shall retain all rights under any applicable layoff and recall system, including a system under a collective bargaining agreement, as if the employee had not taken the leave.
The text creates a standalone reinstatement right triggered by an employee’s receipt of TDI or FLI benefits, yet those benefits are wage-replacement programs that do not themselves confer leave rights. The text expressly disclaims expanding or otherwise modifying the reinstatement rights under the NJFLA, which is the New Jersey statute that provides job-protected leave. Read together, the provisions generate substantial ambiguity, raising questions about whether the 2026 Amendments merely restate restoration rights when TDI/FLI benefits run concurrently with an existing source of job-protected leave or instead create a new, benefits-linked job restoration entitlement independent of any leave statute.
It is unclear whether the statute providing for TDI/FLI can provide a right to reinstatement and at the same time, specifically not modify when protected leave is required under the NJFLA.
Because the text creates irreconcilable differences and legislative intent is unclear, judicial interpretation is unpredictable: New Jersey Courts could limit the provision to restoration rights coextensive with valid leave that overlaps with TDI/FLI benefits, or they could recognize a new reinstatement obligation tied to benefits for any sized employer.
Interaction with Earned Sick Leave
The 2026 Amendments further integrate New Jersey’s Earned Sick Leave law with TDI and FLI, confirming that employees may select the order in which statutory paid leave entitlements are taken, but shall not receive more than one kind of paid leave simultaneously during any period of time.
Practical Takeaways
These reforms will materially expand NJFLA job-protected leave to workers at smaller employers and to newer hires with fewer hours, while attempting to provide employees who use TDI and FLI benefits the right to return to their jobs with explicit statutory protections and meaningful remedies for violations. The former Administration estimated that more than 400,000 additional workers will now have job protection.
In light of these changes, employers should begin implementation planning now:
- Update Written Policies and Plan Materials. Revise eligibility definitions to reflect three months of employment and 250 base hours in the immediately preceding 12-month period.
- Train HR and Managers. Provide guidance on reinstatement obligations and anti-retaliation standards for employees returning from TDI and FLI and align return-to-work procedures and documentation accordingly.
- Update Employment Communications. Prepare notices explaining the new eligibility standards and when they take effect.
- Reconfigure Timekeeping and Reporting. Ensure systems can calculate “base hours” across a 12-month lookback and coordinate with timekeeping vendors on required reporting.
- Adopt Interim “Protected Leave” Protocol. Until further guidance issues, take a conservative approach by treating TDI/FLI-related absences as job-protected. Monitor future alerts for additional direction on the ambiguity surrounding the “protected” leave aspect.
NJFLI Changes Effective July 17, 2026
[1] The Governor’s press release states “250 hours in the preceding three months,” which misstates the enacted bill’s 12-month lookback period. Until clarified by agency guidance or technical corrections, employers should align their written policies and eligibility determinations with the enacted statutory language.
[View source.]
