We often get questions from our New Jersey clients about the rights of employees who are going out on pregnancy and maternity leave. New Jersey's support for pregnant women includes paid leave benefits under the Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) and Family Leave Insurance (FLI) programs. This issue can be confusing to business owners who have not dealt with the issue in the past due to several overlapping laws and state benefit programs; namely temporary disability benefits and family leave insurance. Adding to the potential confusion for employers, pregnancy and maternity leave involve both disability and family leave issues, and depending on the circumstances, pregnant women may be entitled to both disability and family leave job protection, or just disability related job protection.

Pregnancy leave typically qualifies as protected disability leave

Pregnancy related medical conditions can qualify as disabilities under New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD), requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodations for those conditions. New Jersey generally considers a normal birth to involve four weeks of disability before birth and six weeks to eight weeks after birth, depending on whether the birth was a normal delivery or a c-section, respectively. These “standard” times for pregnancy related disability leave can be longer if the mother has pregnancy related medical complications (which would also qualify as a disability), provided that a longer leave period does not impose an undue hardship on the business. During this time, pregnant women may receive temporary disability benefits, which are calculated based on their average weekly wage. This average weekly wage is determined by the earnings in the eight calendar weeks immediately before the week in which the disability begins, and it significantly influences the amount of benefits a woman may receive during her leave.

Maternity leave qualifies as protected family leave for certain employees

Employers with 30 or more employees in New Jersey are also subject to the New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA), which provides job-protected leave to care for a family member or bond with a newborn or adopted child, under the enforcement of the NJ Division on Civil Rights. The NJ Family Leave Act ensures that employees in New Jersey have the right to take leave for their own serious medical conditions or to bond with a new child without fear of losing their job. Thus, once an employee’s pregnancy-related disability ends, the employee may be entitled to up another 12 weeks of job-protected leave under the NJFLA. To be eligible for protection under the New Jersey Family Leave Act, the employee must have been employed for at least one year and worked 1,000 or more hours in the prior 12 months.

Adding to the potential confusion, employers with 50 or more employees are also subject to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which provides up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave for employees to care for themselves or family members. FMLA and NJFLA leave can overlap, but because NJFLA does not cover care for oneself, employees can potentially receive 24 weeks of job-protected leave (12 weeks for the employee’s own medical condition under the FMLA and 12 weeks of bonding time under NJFLA).

Employees on maternity leave are entitled to receive temporary disability benefits and family leave insurance benefits in New Jersey

In addition to job protections, during a pregnancy related leave of absence, the employee will generally be entitled to claim 10 to 12 weeks of temporary disability insurance (TDB) through the state for the time the employee is unable to work, administered by the Division of Temporary Disability. New Jersey also provides Family Leave Insurance (NJFLI) benefits, or family leave benefits, through the state. An employee’s eligibility for NJ family leave insurance benefits starts after the pregnancy-disability and eligibility for temporary disability insurance benefits ends. NJFLI provides up to 12 weeks of benefits for bonding with a new child, with the weekly benefit rate based on the employee's average weekly wage. NJFLI, however, does not confer job protection.

The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development has published an overview explaining the overlap of the wage replacement programs and job protection laws, which can be found here.

Conclusion

As the above summary shows, pregnancy-related leave can be confusing. Understanding both state laws and federal job protection laws is crucial to ensure full legal compliance and protection for employees. This includes navigating the complexities of temporary disability and family leave, which are essential aspects of pregnancy and maternity leave. Given the numerous laws potentially impacted by pregnancy, maternity leave, and the interplay between temporary disability and family leave benefits, when presented with an employee pregnancy, employers should consult with knowledgeable counsel. This will help ensure that employees receive their legal job protections and benefits during pregnancy and that the employer complies with all applicable laws, including the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) program and the NJ Family Leave Act (NJFLA).

If you have questions about your business’ pregnancy or other leave of absence policies, please schedule a complimentary consultation with us through our online scheduling system.

Information contained in this blog is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice or opinion. You should consult with an attorney regarding the specifics of your matter or legal issue.