Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a) The Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), 29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq., was effective on August 5, 1993, except for employees covered under a collective negotiations agreement, for whom the Act is effective on February 5, 1994, or the date the agreement expires, whichever is sooner. This section is for informational purposes only, and addresses areas in which FMLA provisions differ from those under the State Family Leave Act (FLA). See 4A:6-1.2 1A. The U.S. Department of Labor has promulgated rules to implement and enforce the FMLA. See 29 CFR 825.
(b) Definitions, unique to this section, are as follows:
1. "Eligible employee" means an employee of the State or a political subdivision who has worked for the employer for at least 12 months for a minimum of 1,250 hours. In determining whether an employee meets this hours of service requirement, work not requested by an employer but suffered or permitted is work time for purposes of meeting this requirement. See 29 U.S.C. 207; 29 CFR 785.11.
2. "Family leave" means a type of FMLA leave to which an eligible employee is entitled if the employee meets the conditions set forth in (d)1 or (d)2 below.
3. "Medical leave" means a type of FMLA leave to which an employee is entitled if the employee meets the conditions set forth in (d)3 below.
4. "Parent" means a biological parent or an individual who stands or stood in loco parentis to an employee when the employee was a child. This term does not include parents "in law."
5. "Serious health condition" is an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves:
i. Any period of incapacity or treatment in connection with or resulting from inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility;
ii. Any period of incapacity requiring absence from work, school, or other regular daily activities, of more than three calendar days, that also involves continuing treatment by a health care provider; or
iii. Continuing treatment by a health care provider for a chronic or long-term health condition that is incurable or so serious that, if not treated, would likely result in a period of incapacity of more than three calendar days; or for prenatal care.
(c) Public agencies, including the State of New Jersey and political subdivisions, are covered employers without regard to the number of employees employed.
(d) An eligible employee of a covered employer is entitled to 12 weeks of FMLA leave in a 12-month period:
1. Because of the birth of a child or the placement of a child for adoption or foster care, except that the entitlement expires at the end of the 12-month period beginning on the date of birth or placement;
2. Because the employee is needed to care for a child, spouse or parent with a serious health condition; or
3. Because the employee's own serious health condition makes the employee unable to do his or her job.
(e) In State service, the 12-month period begins on the first day of FMLA leave.
(f) Leave may be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule when medically necessary in the case of an employee who has a serious health condition or in the case of a child, spouse or parent who has a serious health condition.
1. Intermittent leave may last for as little as one hour or for as long as several weeks. A reduced leave schedule reduces the employee's hours per workweek or workday. No limit may be placed on the size of an increment of such leave, except that an employer may limit leave increments to the shortest period of time that the employer's payroll system uses to account for use of leave.
2. An employee may take leave in this manner for the birth or placement of a child for adoption or foster care only if the employer agrees.
(g) Special conditions related to FMLA leave are as follows:
1. A husband and wife who both work for the same employer are permitted to take a combined total of 12 weeks of FMLA leave in a 12-month period for the birth or placement for adoption or foster care of a child or to care for a parent with a serious health condition. However, following the use of a portion of the 12-week leave entitlement for one of these purposes, the husband and wife will each be entitled to the difference between the leave taken individually by them and their 12-week entitlement if the additional leave is for a different FMLA purpose (such as their own serious health condition).
2. Employers shall keep FMLA records for no less than three years and shall make them available for inspection, copying and transcription by representatives of the U.S. Department of Labor upon request. These records shall include all of the following:
i. Basic payroll and identifying employee data;
ii. Dates FMLA leave is taken by employees. FMLA leave shall be designated as such in the employer's records and shall not be placed in the same category as other leaves. A general designation, such as "sick leave," does not fulfill this requirement;
iii. The hours of the FMLA leave, if the leave is taken in increments of less than one full day;
iv. Copies of employee notices of leave which fall under the FMLA;
v. Copies of all general and specific notices given to employees as required under the FMLA and 29 CFR 825.300 et seq.;
vi. Any written or electronic documents describing employee benefits or employer leave policies outside of leave provisions found in N.J.A.C. 4A:6 et seq.;
vii. Premium payments of employee benefits; and
viii. Records of any dispute between the employer and an employee regarding designation of leave as FMLA leave, including any written statement from the employer or employee of the reasons for the designation and for the disagreement.
3. If the employer has a uniformly applied policy governing outside employment, such a policy may continue to apply to an employee while on FMLA leave. Otherwise, an employer may not deny benefits to an employee who is entitled to leave because the employee has outside employment.
4. The enforcing agency for FMLA leave is the Wage and Hour Division, Employment Standards Administration, U.S. Department of Labor. Any complaints related to this leave shall be made to that agency. Standardized forms are available from that agency for use by employers.
(h) If an employee qualifies under both Federal and State law, the leave used counts against the leave's entitlement under both laws, provided that nothing in the FMLA supersedes any provision of State law that provides greater rights than those provided under the FMLA, and further provided that rights under the FMLA shall not be diminished by State law.
(i) An employer may designate an employee's paid leave as FMLA leave if the employee provides information to the employer indicating an entitlement to such leave. The employer shall notify the employee that the paid leave has been designated as FMLA leave within two work days of the time the employee gives notice of the need for leave, and before the employee commences the leave, unless the employer does not have sufficient information within that time to make a determination.
1. If the employer does not have sufficient information regarding the employee's reason for taking the paid leave, the employer shall notify the employee of the FMLA designation, if any, as soon as such information is obtained.
2. If the employer has sufficient information to make such a designation but does not do so within the timeframes indicated above, the employer shall designate the paid leave as FMLA leave prospectively as of the date of notification to the employee.
(j) In State service, FMLA leave without pay shall not be deducted from seniority for layoff purposes. For all other purposes, FMLA leave without pay shall be treated the same as other leaves without pay.
