New Jersey Family Medical Leave Act Attorneys
The Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) is a federal labor law in place to provide eligible employees the ability to tend to their own medical needs or that of a family member with a serious health condition. The FMLA provides eligible employees with up to twelve (12) workweeks of unpaid leave in a twelve (12) month period for the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child; care of a spouse, son, daughter, or parent with a serious health condition; or their own serious health condition which causes an inability to work.
The FMLA covers private employers with 50 or more employees for at least 20 workweeks in the current or previous year, as well as all public agencies and public and private schools, regardless of size. Part-time employees count toward the 50-employee total.
To be eligible, an employee must have worked for the employer for at least twelve (12) months, which don’t have to be consecutive, and must have worked at least one thousand two hundred fifty (1,250) hours within the prior twelve (12) months prior to taking leave, and must work at a location where the employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles. In addition, the FMLA is limited to serious health conditions. In other words, it cannot be used for an employee seeking to take a “sick day.” The serious health condition under FMLA includes, illness, injury, impairment, or a physical or mental condition that involved “in-patient” care, defined as an overnight stay in a medical facility, any related incapacity, and continuing treatment by the healthcare provider which includes at least one of the following:
- More than three (3) consecutive days of incapacity and any subsequent treatment or period of incapacity related to the same condition;
- Any period of incapacity due to pregnancy or for prenatal care, even if the employee doesn’t receive treatment during the absence;
- Any period of incapacity or treatment for a chronic serious health condition requiring periodic treatment even if treatment is not received during the absence;
- A long-term or permanent period of incapacity; or
- Any period of absence for multiple treatments and recovery from the treatment by a health care provider for restorative surgery or for a condition that would likely result in more than a three (3) day period of incapacity if left untreated.
Before taking FMLA leave, the employee must give thirty (30) day notice when the need for leave is foreseeable. When the need for leave is unforeseeable, the employee must give notice as soon as practical, which generally means following the employer’s usual call-in rules, typically the same day or the next business day after learning of the need for leave. The employee must give sufficient notice so as to advise the employer of the fact that the leave is being taken under the FMLA and the basis for the need to leave and the likely duration of the leave. At that time the employer has the right to request additional information regarding the nature of the illness requiring the need to leave and the duration of time.
The FMLA protects employees in two main ways. An interference claim arises when an employer denies, discourages, or interferes with leave you’re entitled to, and it doesn’t require proof that the employer meant to break the law. A retaliation claim arises when an employer punishes you for taking or requesting leave, and it does focus on the employer’s reasons. Most employees won’t know whether their employer has followed every FMLA requirement, which is why it helps to have a lawyer review what happened.
It is also important to recognize that the FMLA is unpaid leave. The law does not require an employer to pay the employee while off of work. The employer must hold the job for the employee or an equivalent job, with equivalent pay and benefits. In case, you have troubles at work as a result of your leave, then you should contact our family medical leave lawyers as soon as possible.
New Jersey Leave Laws That Add to the FMLA
Many New Jersey workers have rights beyond the federal law. The New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA) provides up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave in a 24-month period to bond with a new child or to care for a family member with a serious health condition. Amendments that took effect on July 17, 2026 greatly expanded who it covers. It now applies to employers with 15 or more employees, a threshold scheduled to drop to 10 in 2027 and five in 2028, and employees become eligible after three months on the job and 250 hours worked. Unlike the FMLA, the NJFLA doesn’t cover leave for your own health condition, but it can apply to people who don’t qualify for the FMLA at all.
Leave under these laws is generally unpaid, but New Jersey’s Family Leave Insurance program can replace part of your wages while you bond with a child or care for a family member, and Temporary Disability Insurance can do the same when you can’t work because of your own illness, injury, or pregnancy. The 2026 amendments also require employers to restore employees who use these benefits to the same or an equivalent position. New Jersey’s earned sick leave law adds up to 40 hours a year of paid sick time for most workers.
Common FMLA and Family Leave Violations
- Denying leave you qualify for, or refusing to approve FMLA leave without a valid reason
- Counting protected leave against you in attendance policies or performance reviews
- Failing to return you to the same or an equivalent job with the same pay and benefits
- Demoting, disciplining, or firing you for taking or requesting leave
- Cutting off your group health coverage during leave
- Pressuring you to work while you’re on leave
Leave problems often overlap with other claims. An employer that punishes an employee for a pregnancy, a disability, or caregiving duties may also violate New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination, which protects against pregnancy discrimination, disability discrimination, and discrimination based on family responsibilities.
Can I Be Fired While on FMLA Leave?
Taking protected leave doesn’t make you immune from a layoff or a firing that would have happened anyway, such as a company-wide reduction in force. But an employer can’t use your leave as a reason to fire you, and it can’t count protected absences against you. If you were let go during or shortly after leave, the timing and the employer’s explanation are worth a close look, because a termination that coincides with protected leave is one of the most common FMLA violations.
Military Family Leave
The FMLA also gives eligible employees up to 12 weeks of leave for certain urgent needs that arise when a spouse, child, or parent is called to active duty, and up to 26 weeks in a single 12-month period to care for a family member who is a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness.
Deadlines for Leave Claims
A claim under the federal FMLA generally must be filed within two years of the violation, or three years if the violation was willful. Claims under the New Jersey Family Leave Act generally have a one-year deadline, and related discrimination claims under the Law Against Discrimination have their own timelines. Because the deadlines differ, it’s best to talk with a lawyer soon after a leave problem comes up. Our Newark employment lawyers handle the full range of workplace claims.
Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances.