A bill scheduled to be heard in the New Jersey state Senate labor Committee on Monday would dramatically expand job-protected leave rights for workers in the state by requiring even small employers — those with as few as five employees — to reinstate employees returning from paid or unpaid family leave.
Under current law, only employers with 30 or more employees are required to guarantee reinstatement after family leave. The proposed legislation gradually phases in a lower threshold: upon the bill’s effective date the threshold would drop to 20 employees; after one year, to 10 employees; and two years later, to five employees. Once fully phased in, this would extend reinstatement protections to nearly all workers covered by the state’s paid leave system.
The bill ensures that employees who take leave under the state’s Family Temporary Disability Leave Insurance (FLI) program will be able to return to their jobs even if they work for small businesses that under present law are exempt from FLA reinstatement protections. The legislation treats reinstatement rights for FLI beneficiaries in the same way as for other temporary disability leave recipients, thus aligning protections across different leave types.
In addition, the bill would give workers more flexibility in how they combine leave. An employee eligible for both earned sick leave and either temporary disability or family temporary disability leave would have the option to choose which benefit to use — and to decide the order — though they could not receive more than one form of paid leave simultaneously.
Supporters say the measure would expand meaningful job protection to an estimated 700,000 additional workers, according to the state Office of Legislative Services.
The bill’s sponsors argue that many workers pay into FLI and other leave programs but currently lack any guarantee their jobs will still exist when they return.
The bill already was approved by the full Assembly but must still be taken up by the state Senate and signed by the governor before becoming law.