New Jersey Employment Lawyers Blog
On September 26, 2024, the State Assembly passed a Bill (A3505) expands the circumstances under which family leave can be taken under the New Jersey Family Leave Act to include “bereavement” leave for parents who suffer the death of a child or failed adoption. Under an amended law, an employee may take bereavement leave as an additional reason for family leave, which includes the “bereavement purposes” to include the death of a child, pregnancy loss, and failed fertility treatment.
Currently, under the New Jersey Family Leave Act, eligible employees may take up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave within a 24-month period for reasons that include:
- To care for or bond with a child, as long as the leave begins within 1 year of the child’s birth or placement for adoption or foster care;
- To care for a family member, or someone who is the equivalent of family, who has a serious health condition (including a diagnosis of COVID-19);
- To care for a family member, or someone who is the equivalent of family, who has been isolated or quarantined because of suspected exposure to a communicable disease (including COVID-19) during a state of emergency; or
- To provide required care or treatment for a child if their school or place of care is closed by order of a public official due to an epidemic of a communicable disease (including COVID-19) or other public health emergency during a state of emergency.
[NJ Office of Attorney General, August 2022, “New Jersey Family Leave Act”]
The NJFLA does not cover New Jersey employees who need medical leave as a result of their own serious health condition, however they may be eligible for leave under other laws such as FMLA and the Law Against Discrimination. This bill would shift the focus to the condition of the employee as the proposed extended definition would cover those eligible employees grieving from the death of a child or (of the employee or a gestational carrier), or an unsuccessful adoption that had been pending and planned by the employee.
Furthermore, “bereavement purposes” would also cover eligible employees in the event of pregnancies ending in miscarriage, including chemical pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy, and molar pregnancy, or termination of the pregnancy for medical reasons. This may be the employees’ pregnancy, or that of their legal partner, gestational carrier, or the person with whom the employee anticipated having a child with. Moreover, the bill proposes that “failed fertility treatment” would allow for family leave under bereavement, including but not limited to intrauterine insemination and assisted reproductive technology.
There remains questions over the fiscal impact of the bill. The Office of Legislative Services rendered an “indeterminate” estimate for both State expenditure increase and State revenue increase. The office anticipates that by broadening the definition of eligible circumstances, the Family Leave Insurance program would lead to an increase in claims. On the other hand, higher assessed rates on worker’s wages would result in an increase to annual State revenue.
Bill A3505 was carried over from A5809, first introduced to the Assembly in January 2023. With a vote of 71-1 it proceeded to the Senate Labor Committee on September 30, 2024. Should this bill become law it may come as a relief to many New Jersey workers who otherwise are faced with ‘working through’ times of immense stress and grief following bereavement. Allowing for necessary leave, taken to care for one’s mental health after familial loss, can only benefit the overall NJ workforce dynamic.
Our New Jersey employment lawyers will keep a close eye on whether this bill will become law and provide updates on its status.