Human Resources Services  

New Jersey Paid Family Leave Act Effective July 1, 2009  (6/24/09)

Effective July 1, 2009, New Jersey enacts Paid Family leave that provides employees with up to six (6) weeks of paid leave in a 12-month period to care for newborns, newly adopted children or seriously ill family members. The paid leave is a partial wage replacement benefit administered and paid by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Division of Temporary Disability Insurance. It allows an employee to receive two-thirds of his or her weekly compensation up to $524 per week.

However:

• The new paid leave law does not cover leave for an employee's own serious health condition.
• Unlike the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA), the law does not mandate employment restoration or job protection for employees.
• If the employee meets the University Medical/FMLA Leave of Absence policy requirements for eligibility, the Paid Family Leave will run concurrently with FMLA and NJFLA statutes.

Eligibility:
An individual will be covered if he or she is engaged in employment as defined by New Jersey's unemployment compensation law. This means the employee meets minimum earning requirements. Specifically, an employee who earns either $143 or more per week for 20 consecutive weeks, or $7,200 or more over the previous 52 calendar weeks, qualifies for the program.

Benefits:
An employee is eligible for paid family leave benefits if:

• The individual takes leave from work to provide care for a qualifying family member as defined by NJFLA who has a serious health condition;
• The individual is to provide care for a newborn during the first 12 months after the child's birth;
  or
• The individual takes leave during the first 12 months after the placement of a child for adoption.

Notice Requirements:
Employees must provide reasonable and practicable notice (e.g., same or next business day) to his/her department supervisor unless there is an emergency.

Birth of a Child or Placement of a Child for Adoption
An employee must provide his/her departmental supervisor with thirty (30) days' notice when requesting leave for the birth of a child or placement of a child for adoption. If thirty (30) days' notice is not provided, the employee will forfeit two weeks of paid benefits. The penalty is waived if the leave is due to unforeseeable circumstances.

Care for a Family Member with a Serious Health Condition (as defined by FMLA)

• For a continuous, non-intermittent leave, the employee must provide advance notice in a reasonable and practicable manner, unless an emergency or other unforeseen circumstance precludes such notice.
• For an intermittent leave, a minimum of 15 days' notice prior to the commencement of the family leave must be given unless an emergency or other unforeseen circumstance precludes such notice. A maximum of up to 42 days maybe taken.

For all of the above leaves, employees must also submit a claim for benefits to the New Jersey Division of Temporary Disability Insurance within 30 days after leave begins.

Certification:
Employees will be required to complete the following and submit completed forms to the Human Resources Generalist:

• Request for Leave of Absence form and submit same to his/her department supervisor
• Certification of Health Care Provider for Family Member's Serious Health Condition (Form WH-380-F)
• Division of Temporary Disability Insurance Application for Family Leave Insurance Benefits (FL-1)

Use of Accrued Time Benefits in Connection with Paid Family Leave:
The University requires that employees must use up to two weeks (10 days) of available accrued time benefits as part of the six (6) weeks of paid leave, leaving four (4) weeks of paid leave available to the employee under the act as follows:

Employees are required to utilize their leave accruals up to two weeks (10 days) as indicated above and then: (a) apply for Family Temporary Disability Insurance or; (b) apply for Family Temporary Disability Insurance after exhausting all available accrued time. Please note that the aforementioned selection is irrevocable unless an employee's disability claim is denied by the State or the circumstances supporting the leave change, i.e., extension of leave request, recertification, etc.

*   *   *   *   *

Please refer to the University policy on Medical/Family Medical Leave of Absence for information regarding the Paid Family Leave Benefit. Additional information is available on the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development website at http://lwd.state.nj.us/labor/fli/fliindex.html.

Questions regarding this benefit can also be referred to the Director of Human Resources Services at 973-972-6757 or via email at michelma@umdnj.edu. You may also contact the Human Resources Generalist assigned to your school/unit.