New Jersey’s Family Leave Insurance (NJFLI) benefits partially replace wages of workers who need to care for a seriously ill or injured family member, or bond with a newborn, newly adopted or newly placed foster child. The program complements the New Jersey Temporary Disability Insurance (NJTDI) program, which partially replaces wages during an employee’s own injury, illness, or other disability, including pregnancy.
Several changes to NJFLI and NJTDI have occurred over the past 10 months. As of October 1, 2019, employees can file for leave up to 60 days in advance. Effective June 17, 2020 employees on disability leave can transition back to the workplace on a partial schedule and still receive partial benefits. And as of July 1, 2020, the weekly benefit rate and benefit durations changed: the maximum benefit is now 85% of average weekly wages to a maximum benefit of $881/week (up from $650/week) and employees can take up to 12 consecutive weeks of continuous leave (up from 6 weeks) or up to 56 non-continuous days of leave (up from 42 days) during any 12-month period.
Finally, the definition of ‘family member’ for purposes of leave eligibility has also been expanded to include caring for parents-in-law, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, any blood relative and anyone who is the equivalent of family.
For further details, please visit: https://myleavebenefits.nj.gov/labor/myleavebenefits/employer/index.shtml?open=FLI