NJ Family Leave and Federal FMLA

njjel

An employee used 5 weeks of FMLA leave for their own serious health condition in March 2004. Now the ee's parent is ill and she wishes to use NJ Family leave. My contention is that she will finish up her 7 weeks left under FMLA which will run concurrent with NJ Family leave and then she will have 5 weeks left of NJFL for a total leave time now of 12 weeks to care for her mother. She will have then used all of both the FMLA and the NJFL for the current rolling 12 months. NJ formites is this correct under NJ law?

julie1

The answer to the question is "yes." The five weeks of FMLA leave based upon the employee's own serious health condition does not count towards her NJFL time because the NJFL Act does not permit leave for the employee's own serious health condition. However, both the FMLA and the NJFL Act do provide for time off based upon the need to care for a parent with a serious health condition, and so this new leave could (as indicated below) last as long as twelve weeks during which it would exhaust the remaining seven weeks of FMLA leave and also the full twelve weeks of NJFL Act leave.

One possible exception. If the parent is a biological parent, both laws apply. If the parent is a step or in-law, only NJFL Act applies (which means FMLA time is not counted and is still in the "bank" to be used for other purposes).

awilliams

I just wanted to note that Julie1, who posted above, works with the editors of the New Jersey Employment Law Letter, and posted the answer on behalf of attorney Greg Parliman. We hope this answers your question!

Anne Williams
Attorney Editor
M. Lee Smith Publishers, LLC

njjel

Yes thanks it confirms exactly what I thought. Appreciate it.