As of July 1, 2009, employees may begin to request leave under the New Jersey Paid Family Leave Act ("PFLA").   The PFLA allows eligible employees paid time off to care for a family member with a serious health condition who is unable to care for himself/herself or to care for a newborn or newly adopted child.  Eligible employees may receive up to 2/3 of their regular pay (to a cap of $546/week) for up to six weeks.  The program is financed by employee contributions to a State Plan.  The PFLA does not provide employees additional leave, but rather, allows employees to be paid when taking leave under the FMLA and/or NJFLA or other leave granted by the employer.

Under the PFLA, employers are required to provide employees with written notification that paid family leave may be available to them:

• at the time of hire;
• when an employee provides notification that he/she is taking time off to care for a seriously ill family member or newborn or newly adopted child; and
• upon the first request of an employee.

Employers are required to provide written notice to an employee who requests leave that may be covered by the PFLA, even if the employee does not specifically request such a notice.  Thus, managers and supervisors should be trained to respond appropriately to all covered leave requests.

Employers also must display a poster notifying employees of their rights under the PFLA in a conspicuous place in every New Jersey workplace location.  Written notification to employees and posters for display are available from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development at:

http://lwd.dol.state.nj.us/labor/fli/content/emp_requirements.html

Policy Updates

Finally, employers should ensure that their new hire orientation materials, written policies and procedures, and employee handbooks have been updated to reflect the changes brought about by this new law.

More information on the PFLA is available in the June 6, 2008 Nukk-Freeman & Cerra Legal Update, which is available at:

NFC Legal Updates: Employee Paid Family Leave

If you have any questions about the PFLA or the requirements it creates for employers, need assistance updating or drafting employee handbooks or policies, or require training for managers or supervisors, please contact the Nukk-Freeman & Cerra attorney with whom you normally work.