FMLA in New Jersey: Federal Rules, State Leave Laws, and an Eligibility Calculator (2026)

How does FMLA work in New Jersey?

The federal FMLA applies in New Jersey exactly as it does everywhere: up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for employees with 12 months of service, 1,250 hours worked in the prior 12 months, and 50 or more employees within 75 miles of their worksite, at a private employer with 50 or more employees or any public agency or school. New Jersey adds New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA), which covers employers with 30 or more employees (counted worldwide) and gives 12 weeks in a 24-month period. Family Leave Insurance (FLI) and Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI), up to 26 weeks pay a benefit during the leave, paid sick leave is mandated by the Earned Sick Leave Law, and there is no bereavement leave mandate. Checked September 15, 2026.

Does the federal FMLA apply in New Jersey?

Yes, and identically to every other state. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act gives an eligible employee up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for a serious health condition, a new child, care for a spouse, parent, or child with a serious health condition, or a military exigency, and up to 26 weeks to care for a seriously injured servicemember. To be eligible you need 12 months of service with the employer, 1,250 hours actually worked in the 12 months before the leave, and a worksite with 50 or more employees within 75 miles. Private employers are covered at 50 or more employees on the payroll in 20 or more workweeks; public agencies and schools are covered at any size.

The three employee tests are measured on the day the leave starts, and the third one is the one that surprises people in New Jersey: a covered employer with a small branch has a worksite where nobody is eligible if fewer than 50 employees work at that branch and at other sites within 75 road miles. Hours actually worked in the prior 12 months decide the 1,250-hour test; paid time off and holidays do not count. The calculator on this page runs all three tests and, when one fails, names the date or the hours that would satisfy it.

What New Jersey leave laws add to the FMLA

One state statute sits on top of the FMLA in New Jersey. New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA) (N.J.S.A. 34:11B-1 ff.) applies to employers with 30 or more employees (counted worldwide) and gives 12 weeks in a 24-month period for bonding within a year of birth or placement, and care for a covered family member with a serious health condition; the employee's own health condition is NOT covered. Eligibility: 12 months of employment and 1,000 hours in the prior 12 months. It widens the family circle beyond the FMLA's spouse, parent, and minor child to include child, parent, parent-in-law, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, spouse, domestic or civil union partner, any other individual related by blood, and any individual whose close association is the equivalent of a family relationship. Runs concurrently with the FMLA for bonding and family care. Because NJFLA excludes the employee's own condition, a birth parent commonly takes FMLA leave for recovery and then NJFLA leave to bond, protecting up to 24 weeks in sequence.

Is FMLA leave paid in New Jersey?

The FMLA itself pays nothing. Whether the 12 weeks are paid depends on the state program, any disability insurance, and the employer's own paid leave, which may be substituted for the unpaid leave under 29 CFR 825.207. New Jersey has both kinds of state wage replacement: Family Leave Insurance (FLI) for bonding and family care, and Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI), up to 26 weeks for the employee's own non-work illness or injury, including pregnancy. Benefits since 2009. Up to 12 weeks of FLI; own medical condition is paid by TDI. TDI and Family Leave Insurance pay money only. Job protection during the paid weeks comes from the NJFLA (bonding and family care) or the FMLA, and an employer may not retaliate for claiming FLI.

Because the disability side pays while the FMLA protects, an employee on disability benefits is not on unpaid leave, so under 825.207(d) the employer cannot require PTO to be used at the same time; the two sides may agree to a top-up. Paid sick leave is mandated statewide by the Earned Sick Leave Law, accruing at 1 hour per 30 hours worked up to 40 hours/year. Those hours can be substituted for unpaid FMLA leave. The New Jersey paid leave calculator linked below estimates the weekly benefit under the current formula and cap.

Bereavement, sick leave, and the smaller New Jersey statutes

Bereavement: New Jersey has no statewide bereavement leave mandate for private employers, and the federal FMLA does not cover bereavement either, so time off after a death comes from the employer's policy or from paid sick or PTO balances where the policy allows it.

The smaller statutes a multi-state employer has to carry in New Jersey, one line each.

How the 12-month period and the calculator work in New Jersey

The federal entitlement in New Jersey is 12 workweeks in the 12-month period the employer has chosen: calendar year, a fixed leave year, 12 months forward from first use, or a rolling 12 months measured backward from each day of leave. The method must be applied to everyone, disclosed in the rights and responsibilities notice, and changed only on 60 days' written notice. Under the rolling method every hour returns 12 months after the day it was taken; under the other three the full entitlement returns on one date. New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA) runs on its own clock (12 weeks in a 24-month period), which is not necessarily the employer's federal 12-month method, so New Jersey employers keep two balances for an employee who qualifies under both, and the calculator below tracks the federal one.

The calculator on this page is preset to New Jersey. Run the eligibility panel as of the leave start date, convert the schedule into hours (480 for a 40-hour week), then enter the leave taken and the employer's method to see the hours available today, the hours available on a future date, and, under the rolling method, the dates on which used hours come back.

Sources and last check

This page was checked on September 15, 2026 against New Jersey Division on Civil Rights, NJFLA; New Jersey Department of Labor, TDI and FLI; N.J.S.A. 34:11B, 34:11C, 34:11D. The federal rules are 29 U.S.C. 2601 ff. and 29 CFR Part 825. State thresholds and programs change, most often on January 1; the paid leave figures on the linked calculator carry their own effective dates.