What Rights Concerning Leave From Work Does An Executive Or A Professional Have In New Jersey?

This article addresses New Jersey and federal laws obligating employers to allow workers to take, and to return to work after taking, medical leave, sick leave, or safe leave. In particular, this article details the rights of executives and professionals in New Jersey to:

• Unpaid family leave;
• Partially paid family temporary disability leave. Unlike the other types of leave discussed in this article, family temporary disability leave does not provide any job protection;
• Unpaid leave to deal with circumstances arising from domestic violence or a sexually violent offense; and
• Earned sick leave

In New Jersey, executives and professionals are considered employees. As a result, in New Jersey, executives and professionals have the same rights to leave from work that other employes enjoy.

Laws requiring employers to allow workers to take, and to return to work after taking, medical leave, sick leave, or safe leave consist of federal laws (that is, laws that govern the entire country) and New Jersey laws.

Federal Law

Executives, professionals, and other employees in New Jersey have rights to several types of medical leave and sick leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, known as the FMLA. Employers with 50 or more employees must allow workers to take, and to return to their jobs after taking, as much as 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period for the birth or adoption of a child, to care for a close family member who has a serious health condition, for an employee’s own serious health condition, or when a close family member is called to active military service. To be eligible for unpaid leave under the FMLA, the employee must have been employed for at least 12 months by the employer and must have at least 1,250 hours of service with the employer in the past 12 months.

New Jersey Law

Four New Jersey statutes govern the rights of executives and professionals to leave from work in the Garden State. These four New Jersey statutes are:

• The New Jersey Family Leave Act (the “NJFLA”)
• The family leave insurance provisions of the New Jersey Temporary Disability Benefits Law (the “NJ TDB Law”). These family leave insurance provisions make up the New Jersey Paid Family Leave Law (the “NJ PFLL”). 
• The New Jersey SAFE Act
• The New Jersey Earned Sick Leave Act (the “NJ ESLA”)

The New Jersey Family Leave Act requires private companies and organizations with 30 or more employees worldwide, and all state or local government agencies, to allow eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid family leave in any 24-month period without losing their jobs. 

To be eligible for NJFLA leave, employees must have worked within the State of New Jersey for the same covered employer for at least one year, and for at least 1,000 hours in the past 12 months. Thus, many part-time as well as full-time employees are eligible.

The NJFLA does not specify what constitutes employment within the state. However, the New Jersey Division of Civil Rights (the “NJDCR”)’s regulations provide that an individual is considered employed within the state if the individual either (i) works in New Jersey or (ii) routinely performs some work in New Jersey and the employee’s base of operations or the place from which such work is directed and controlled is in New Jersey. 

Employees can take family leave:

• To care for or bond with a child of the employee, as long as the leave begins within one year of the child’s birth or placement for adoption or foster care;
• To care for a family member, or someone who is the equivalent of a family member, with a serious health condition (including a diagnosis of COVID-19) or who has been isolated or quarantined because of suspected exposure to a communicable disease (including COVID-19) during a state of emergency; or
• To provide required care or treatment for a child during a state of emergency if the child’s school or place of care is closed by an order of a public official because of an epidemic of a communicable disease (including COVID-19) or other public health emergency.

Under the NJFLA, a “serious health condition” means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition which requires (i) inpatient care or (ii) continuing medical treatment or continuing supervision by a health care provider. 

Family leave provided under the NJFLA is based upon the employee’s need to care for another person, rather than upon the employee’s own disability. This distinction makes NJFLA leave separate and different from maternity leave and other types of disability leave. 

There are certain limitations on employees’ rights conferred by the NJFLA. These statutory limitations include notice and verification requirements, restrictions on moonlighting and on taking non-consecutive leave, and the employer’s right to deny leave to certain highly paid employees where substantial and grievous economic harm to business operations would otherwise result.

Partially Paid Family Temporary Disability Leave: The Family Leave Insurance Provisions Of The New Jersey Temporary Disability Benefits Law

The family leave insurance provisions of the New Jersey Temporary Disability Benefits Law provide up to 12 weeks of continuous family temporary disability leave or 56 days of intermittent family temporary disability benefits leave. These family temporary disability leave insurance provisions make up the New Jersey Paid Family Leave Law.

Employees receiving family temporary disability leave benefits receive 85% of their average weekly wages, up to a maximum. As of January 1, 2025, the maximum family temporary disability leave benefits are $1,081 per week.

Employees who are covered by family temporary disability leave insurance can apply for temporary disability benefits to:

• bond with the child within 12 months after the child’s birth or placement by adoption or foster care. The applicant, or the applicant’s spouse or domestic or civil union partner, must be the child’s biological, adoptive or foster parent, unless a surrogate carried the child.
• Care for a family member with a serious health condition. Supporting documentation from a health care provider is mandatory.
• Care for a victim of domestic violence or a sexually violent offense or for a victim’s family member.

Unlike the other types of leave from work discussed in this article, family temporary disability leave does not provide any job protection. Nor do the family leave insurance provisions of the NJ TDB Law require the employer to reinstate an employee who has taken the leave.

Unpaid, Domestic Violence-Related Leave: The New Jersey SAFE Act

The New Jersey Security and Financial Empowerment Act (the “New Jersey SAFE Act”) provides that certain employees are eligible to receive an unpaid leave of absence, for a period not to exceed 20 days in a 12-month period, to address circumstances resulting from domestic violence or a sexually violent offense. 

To be eligible, the employee must have worked at least 1,000 hours during the immediately preceding 12- month period. Further, the employee must have worked for at least 12 months for the employer in the State of New Jersey with respect to whom leave is sought. That employer must have employed 25 or more employees for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the then-current or immediately preceding calendar year. 

Leave under the New Jersey SAFE Act must be used in the 12-month period immediately following an instance of domestic violence or a sexually violent offense. The unpaid leave may be taken intermittently in intervals of no less than one day.

Leave under the New Jerey SAFE Act may be taken for the purpose of engaging in any of the following activities as they relate to an incident of domestic violence or a sexually violent offense: 

• Seeking medical attention for, or recovering from, physical or psychological injuries caused by domestic or sexual violence;
• Obtaining services from a victim services organization;
• Obtaining psychological or other counseling;
• Participating in safety planning, temporarily or permanently relocating, or taking other actions to increase the safety from future domestic violence or sexual violence or to ensure economic security;
• Seeking legal assistance or remedies to ensure health and safety, including preparing for or participating in any civil or criminal legal proceeding related to or derived from domestic violence; or
• Attending, participating in or preparing for a criminal or civil court proceeding relating to an incident of domestic or sexual violence of which the employee or the employee’s child, parent, spouse, domestic partner, or civil union partner, was a victim.

The New Jersey SAFE Act prohibits an employer from discharging, harassing or otherwise discriminating or retaliating or threatening to discharge, harass or otherwise discriminate against an employee with respect to the compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of employment on the basis that the employee took or requested a leave that the employee was entitled to under the New Jersey SAFE Act, or on the basis that the employee refused to authorize the release of information deemed confidential under the New Jersey SAFE Act.

To obtain relief for a violation of the New Jersey SAFE Act, an aggrieved person must file a lawsuit in the Superior Court within one year of the date of the alleged violation.

Earned Sick Leave: The New Jersey Earned Sick Leave Law

Under the New Jersey Earned Sick Leave Law (again, the “NJ ESLA”), most employees have a right to accrue up to 40 hours of earned sick leave per year. 

Every employer must offer up to a total of 40 hours of earned sick leave every benefit year.

Employees accrue earned sick leave at the rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 40 hours of leave per benefit year. 

Employees begin to accrue earned sick leave on the first day of their employment.

Employees may begin using earned sick leave on the 120th calendar day after they begin employment.

Employees can use earned sick leave to take time off from work when:

• The employee needs diagnosis, care, treatment, or recovery for a mental or physical illness, injury or health condition; or he or she needs preventative medical care;
• The worker needs to care for a family member during diagnosis, care, treatment, or recovery for a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; or the worker’s family member needs preventive medical care;
• The employee or a family member has been the victim of domestic violence or sexual violence and needs time for treatment, counseling, or to prepare for legal proceedings;
• The worker needs to attend school-related conferences, meetings, or events regarding the worker’s child’s education, or to attend a school-related meeting regarding the worker’s child’s health; or 
• The employer’s business closes because of a public health emergency or the employee needs to care for a child whose school or child care provider closed because of a public health emergency.

Up to 40 hours of unused earned sick leave can be carried over into the next benefit year. However, an employer is only required to let an employee use up to 40 hours of leave per benefit year. Alternately, an employer may offer to purchase a worker’s unused earned sick leave at the end of the benefit year.

Employees have a right to be free from retaliation for using earned sick leave. Retaliation includes any threat, discipline, discharge, demotion, suspension, or reduction in hours, or any other adverse employment action against an employee for exercising or attempting to exercise any right guaranteed under the NJ ESLA.

Employers’ violations of the NJ ESLA are treated as wage payment violations, for which monetary penalties, money damages, and other remedies are available against the employer. In addition, employees who win lawsuits for violations of their rights under the NJ ESLA are entitled to liquidated damages and may also be awarded costs and attorneys’ fees.

If you are an executive or a professional in the New York City metro area and you believe that you have been wrongfully terminated or that your employer has failed or refused to allow you to take, or to return to work after taking, leave from work, call New Jersey Wrongful Termination Lawyer David S. Rich at (201) 740-2828 today.