NEWARK: New Jersey Citizen Action and the New Jersey Time to Care Coalition applauds the passage of S2950/A3451 by the Legislature as an important step forward for working families and urges the Governor’s signature.
Once enacted, this bill will expand job protected leave for hundreds of thousands of NJ workers who need time to care for a new child or a seriously ill loved one without fear of losing their jobs. Because all New Jersey employees pay into the Family Leave Insurance (FLI) program, ensuring fair and meaningful access to these benefits when they are needed is a matter of both affordability and equity.
The bill makes changes to the NJ Family Leave Act (FLA) to provide job-protected unpaid family leave to employees who work for an employer with at least 15 employees; have been employed for that employer for at least 3 months; and have worked at least 250 hours for that employer prior to taking leave. In simpler terms, a worker employed 20 hours a week will qualify for job-protected family leave after 10 weeks on the job, while someone working full time—40 hours a week—will qualify after just 90 days, aligning with the probationary period at many workplaces.
Additionally, the bill makes changes to the paid family leave law (FLI/TDI) so that all employees who take Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) will have the right to get their jobs back (or a comparable job) following leave.
“We applaud legislators, especially sponsors Assemblywoman Quijano, Speaker Coughlin, and Senator Moriarty, for expanding access to job-protected leave for more workers,” said Yarrow Willman-Cole, Work Justice Program Director at New Jersey Citizen Action. “Job protections are essential to ensuring workers can use paid leave. This benefit allows working families to care for recovering, seriously ill, or dying loved ones, and to bond with new babies or adopted and fostered children without risking their economic security.”
"No New Jersey worker should ever have to face firing because they take family leave to bond with a new child, and this bill brings that closer to reality," said Peter Chen, Senior Policy Analyst at New Jersey Policy Perspective. "Although more needs to be done to protect all New Jerseyans, hundreds of thousands more workers will now be able to take time with their families without fear of retaliation."
Adam Liebtag, President, CWA Local 1036 said, “We thank the Legislature for passing S2950/A3451 that will extend job protection to thousands of workers who currently risk losing their jobs when taking NJ Family Leave Insurance. Prior to amendments, many of our members who switch positions or move to work with different public sector employers, faced losing their jobs when taking leave, even though they pay for paid leave through their own payroll contributions. And as a matter of fairness, no New Jersey worker, public sector or not, should have to choose between caring for their loved ones or losing their job.”
"At a time when so many are losing access to medical coverage, New Jersey policymakers are moving in the right direction by passing legislation to expand job protected access to paid family leave benefits. When health emergencies occur, no one should have to choose between a paycheck and caring for a family member in need. Paid family leave programs strengthen our families and should be equitable and accessible to all workers,” said Debbie White, HPAE President.
“These changes will allow more workers' jobs to be protected, especially those more vulnerable workers who tend to change jobs over the course of the year,” said Dr. Becky Logue-Conroy, researcher with the Center for Women and Work at Rutgers University. “Those previously not covered were more likely to be women and lower-wage workers. Covering more workers allows more families to take the time they need to care for each other without risking their jobs.”
“The New Jersey Coalition to End Domestic Violence is grateful for this extension of job protection for employers at smaller organizations and who may not have the benefit of a long work history,” said Denise Higgins, Legal Director at the New Jersey Coalition to End Domestic Violence. “This law will impact many survivors of domestic violence who are employed or reentering the workforce after being in financially abusive relationships. We also look forward to working with the sponsors to expand eligibility requirements to allow for absences related to domestic violence or for the care of a survivor of domestic violence, either through future amendments to the NJ Family Leave Insurance, the NJ Family Leave Act or by expanding the SAFE Act to reflect this change."
The New Jersey Time to Care Coalition, which helped establish the state’s paid family leave law, NJ Family Leave Insurance, remains committed to ensuring all workers can access the benefits they pay into without risking their jobs. While there is still more work to do to ensure paid leave for all in New Jersey, this piece of legislation is a significant step towards the goal.