Family Medical Leave in New Jersey: Understanding Your Rights Under the FMLA
Serious health conditions and family responsibilities can arise unexpectedly. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides eligible employees with job-protected leave during critical life events. When employers interfere with those rights or retaliate against employees for taking leave, legal protections may apply.
Castronovo & McKinney, LLC focuses exclusively on employment law and represents employees across New Jersey in leave-related disputes. Understanding how the FMLA works—and how it interacts with New Jersey law—is essential to protecting your position.
What the FMLA Provides
The FMLA is a federal law that allows eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave within a 12-month period for qualifying reasons. These may include:
- The birth of a child and bonding time
- Adoption or foster placement
- A serious health condition affecting the employee
- Caring for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition
- Certain military family circumstances
During FMLA leave, employers must generally maintain group health benefits and restore the employee to the same or an equivalent position upon return.
Eligibility Requirements
Not every employee automatically qualifies for FMLA protection. Eligibility typically requires:
- At least 12 months of employment with the employer;
- At least 1,250 hours worked during the previous 12 months; and
- Employment at a location with the required number of employees within a specified radius.
Evaluating eligibility often requires careful review of work history and employer coverage.
Interference and Retaliation
Employers may not interfere with an employee’s ability to take protected leave. Denying valid leave, discouraging requests, or failing to reinstate an employee may constitute unlawful interference.
Retaliation is also prohibited. Termination, demotion, or other adverse actions connected to leave usage may give rise to separate legal claims.
Interaction with the New Jersey Family Leave Act
New Jersey employees may also be protected under the New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA), which provides additional job-protected leave in certain family-care situations. The timing and coordination of federal and state leave rights can affect total available leave.
Understanding how these statutes overlap is critical in evaluating employer compliance.
Remedies for FMLA Violations
Employees who prevail in FMLA claims may recover lost wages, benefits, and other damages permitted under the statute. In some cases, liquidated damages may also apply.
Each situation requires a careful factual review to determine whether an employer’s actions complied with the law.
Additional Information on FMLA Protections
For more detailed information regarding leave rights under federal law, review this resource: Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Lawyers.
Contact Castronovo & McKinney, LLC
Castronovo & McKinney, LLC
71 Maple Ave
Morristown, NJ 07960
Phone: 973-920-7888
Email: [email protected]
Hours: Monday – Friday, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
The firm represents employees and employers throughout New Jersey, including Bergen County, Essex County, Middlesex County, and Morris County, as well as communities such as Hackensack, Newark, New Brunswick, and Morristown.