Family Leave Protections Expand to Smaller Businesses
A legislative proposal that would broaden family leave protections to include New Jersey companies with at least 15 workers is now awaiting Governor Phil Murphy's approval.
Current regulations guarantee job-protected family leave only to employees at businesses with 30 or more staff members. This benefit allows workers to take time off for caring for a new child or sick relative while receiving 85% of their pay and ensuring their position upon return.
Bill S3451, which passed the state Assembly last year and received Senate committee approval last week, was voted through by the full Senate on Monday with a 24-12 margin.
Governor Murphy must sign the measure for it to become effective law.
Legislative Adjustments and Opposition
The initial version of the legislation sought to lower the employee threshold from 30 to just five. Following objections from business representatives, lawmakers revised the requirement to 15 employees.
While New Jersey law already provides up to 12 weeks of paid leave for family care purposes, employees at businesses with fewer than 30 workers currently lack job security upon returning from leave.
The New Jersey Business & Industry Association, representing private sector interests, has voiced opposition to the expansion.
Chris Emigholz, a lobbyist for NJBIA, noted that few states apply family leave requirements to such small businesses. "In other words, New Jersey would be placing its smallest employers into a narrow national category — an outlier beyond most states we directly compete with for jobs and investment," Emigholz said.
Support for Expanded Protections
Advocacy groups supporting the legislation argue these changes are necessary and overdue.
Yarrow Willman-Cole, a director at New Jersey Citizen Action, emphasized the importance of access to benefits. "No one should be prevented from accessing the paid leave benefits that they are contributing to and entitled to. We passed paid family leave 17 years ago and it took us 10 years to improve it — it should not take another decade to get this right," Willman-Cole said.
