Find out how New Jersey's disability insurance and family leave insurance programs provide eligible employees with paid, job-protected time off.
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Taking time off work for pregnancy, childbirth, or a new baby in New Jersey raises three questions: How long can you be away, will you get paid, and will your job be there when you return? New Jersey answers all three better than most states. Two state programs replace much of your wages while you're out: Temporary disability insurance (TDI) covers pregnancy and recovery from childbirth, and family leave insurance (FLI) covers bonding with a new child. And as of July 2026, both programs protect your job, even if you aren't covered by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or the New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA).
Read on to learn how to combine these benefits for up to 22 to 24 weeks of paid, job-protected time off.
Getting Paid During Maternity and Paternity Leave
New Jersey is one of a few states offering paid pregnancy leave and paid family leave. Its temporary disability insurance program pays benefits during pregnancy and childbirth, and its family leave insurance program pays you while you bond with a new child, each replacing up to 85% of your average weekly wages, up to a cap.
While both the FMLA and the NJFLA protect your job if you take unpaid maternity or paternity leave, these laws don’t require your employer to pay you during your time off. So it's important to know whether you qualify for TDI leave, FLI leave, or both.
Getting Paid for Maternity Leave Under New Jersey's TDI Program
New Jersey's temporary disability insurance (TDI) program is funded by employer and employee contributions (through payroll withholdings). If you take time off while you’re temporarily unable to work due to pregnancy and childbirth, you can file a TDI claim.
For 2026, you must have earned $310 per week for 20 weeks, or $15,500 in a year, to qualify for NJ TDI.
The TDI benefit can be as much as 85% of your average weekly earnings, up to a maximum amount ($1,119 for 2026).
For a normal pregnancy, benefits are generally available for up to 4 weeks before you have your baby and up to 6 weeks after you give birth (8 weeks for cesarean delivery). If you have a medically complicated pregnancy or birth and your doctor certifies your medical need for additional time off, you can generally get more benefits (up to the maximum of 26 weeks).
As of July 2026, New Jersey’s TDI program provides job protection for employees not covered by other laws. If you’re covered by the federal FMLA (your employer must have at least 50 employees) or the NJFLA (at least 15 employees), the law protects your right to take leave and to get your job back when your leave is over. You might also get protection from discrimination laws (more on these protections below).
Parenting and Paternity Leave Under New Jersey’s Paid Family Leave Program
New Jersey has a paid family leave program (called Family Leave Insurance, or FLI) that works similarly to its temporary disability insurance program. The amount of the paid family leave benefits is the same as New Jersey’s TDI benefits, so you can get 85% of your average weekly salary, up to $1,119 per week.
Both parents can take paid family leave in New Jersey for up to 12 consecutive weeks to bond with a new child. But if you split your New Jersey family leave into two parts, you only get 8 weeks of paid leave per year. So, if you take only 4 weeks of paid FLI parental leave when your child is born, you’ll only have 4 weeks of FLI leave left for the rest of the year.
If you’re covered by the FMLA (for companies with 50 employees) or the New Jersey Family Leave Act (for companies with at least 15 employees), those laws protect your right to take leave and to get your job back when your leave is over. Recent changes to New Jersey's paid leave law expanded job protections to employees who are receiving paid FLI benefits but aren't covered under the FMLA or NJFLA.
Maximizing Your Paid Maternity Leave in New Jersey
New Jersey paid family leave benefits don’t cover pregnancy or recovery from childbirth—that’s what temporary disability insurance benefits are for. And likewise, NJ TDI benefits don’t cover parenting leave.
But if you’re having a baby and you qualify for paid time off under New Jersey’s TDI and paid family leave programs, you can use those programs back-to-back to maximize your benefits.
For example, let’s say you take short-term disability leave for the last 4 weeks of your pregnancy and 6 weeks to recover from childbirth. You can collect New Jersey TDI benefits during those 10 weeks off.
At the end of your recovery period, you’d still be entitled to up to 12 consecutive weeks of paid family leave under New Jersey’s FLI program. In this case, you could get a total of 22 weeks of job-protected, paid pregnancy, maternity, and parental leave.
Your Right to Maternity Leave in New Jersey (During Pregnancy)
In addition to the TDI and FLI programs, which now protect your job while you're on leave, two other types of laws can protect your job when you need to take pregnancy and maternity leave in New Jersey:
- laws that require your employer to let you take pregnancy leave, and
- laws prohibiting pregnancy discrimination.
Some are federal protections. Others apply only to people who work for New Jersey employers. Depending on your situation, your leave could be protected by one or more of these laws.
Laws That Require Your Employer to Give You Pregnancy Leave
The FMLA and New Jersey’s TDI/FLI paid leave law protect your job when you take maternity leave. (The NJFLA does not; it only protects your job during parental or bonding leave.)
The Family and Medical Leave Act. The FMLA is a federal law that gives eligible employees the right to take up to 12 weeks off work in a one-year period for (among other things) the following:
- pregnancy
- recovery from childbirth, and
- bonding with and caring for your new child (parenting).
If you qualify (the FMLA only applies to companies with 50 or more employees), you can use FMLA leave to take time off when you can’t work because of your pregnancy and childbirth. You can also take FMLA leave for prenatal care, including routine checkups and doctor visits. (Learn more about your right to FMLA leave for pregnancy and disability.) FMLA leave, by itself, is unpaid.
New Jersey’s Paid Leave Law. As of July 2026, New Jersey's temporary disability and paid family leave programs also protect your job, whether your benefits come from the state or a private plan. If your leave isn't already covered by the New Jersey Family Leave Act or the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, the TDI/FLI law gives you the right to return to your job when your leave ends.
These changes expanded job protections to employees who qualify for paid leave benefits but previously didn't qualify for job-protected leave because they worked for small employers, were new to their jobs, or—for some workers—worked part-time.
Laws That Protect You From Pregnancy Discrimination in New Jersey
Three antidiscrimination laws can help women in New Jersey get their jobs back after taking maternity leave:
- the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD)
- the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), and
- the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA).
These laws are particularly helpful to those who don't qualify for FMLA leave or TDI leave.
New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. New Jersey’s antidiscrimination law specifically requires employers to provide “reasonable accommodations” to allow employees to maintain a healthy pregnancy or recover from childbirth. The law mentions accommodations such as:
- breaks
- opportunities to rest
- light duty, and
- modified work schedules, which could include working fewer hours.
All employers must provide these accommodations unless they would cause an undue hardship to the business.
Pregnancy Discrimination Act. The PDA doesn't require your employer to give you time off work because of your pregnancy. But it does require employers to treat employees who can’t work due to pregnancy the same way the company treats employees who are temporarily disabled for other reasons.
For example, let’s say your employer allows other employees to take time off for temporary disabilities like:
- broken bones
- heart attacks, or
- cancer treatment.
Then, under the PDA, your company must also allow you to take the same time off when you’re unable to work due to pregnancy.
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. The PWFA takes pregnancy protections in the workplace one step further. This 2023 law requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees who need them due to pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions. Under this law, reasonable accommodations can include time off work.
Your Right to Parenting and Paternity Leave in New Jersey
The FMLA and NJFLA have different rules for parenting leave.
Parenting Leave Under the FMLA
The FMLA gives all new parents—mothers and fathers—the right to take time off to bond with a new child, whether the child is:
- your biological child
- an adopted child, or
- a foster placement.
Bonding time is part of the total 12-week-per-year leave entitlement. So, if you use 2 weeks of FMLA leave during your pregnancy, you’ll have 10 weeks left to use for parental leave or for your own serious illness. (Learn more about how the FMLA protects your job when you take time off.)
Parenting Leave Under the NJFLA
New Jersey has its own parental leave law, the New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA), which allows eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks off to bond with and care for a new child.
The NJFLA only entitles you to family or parental leave, unlike the FMLA, which also includes medical leave. So the New Jersey law doesn’t protect your job when you take time off for pregnancy. (But you can use the FMLA for pregnancy leave and the NJFLA for parenting leave.)
The New Jersey law differs from the FMLA in three other ways:
- You can take 12 weeks off every 2 years, not every year as the FMLA allows.
- You need to have worked for the employer only 3 months instead of the 12 months required by FMLA.
- You need to have worked at least 250 hours for your employer in the past 12 months instead of the 1,250 hours required by the FMLA.
If you qualify for leave under both the FMLA and New Jersey's parental leave law—in other words, if you meet the eligibility requirements under both laws—you might be able to take more than 12 weeks of leave. Because the NJFLA doesn’t cover pregnancy leave, any time you take before giving birth would count against your FMLA leave only. Once you have your baby, you’d still have 12 weeks available under the NJFLA.
Leave for Parents Who Work for the Same New Jersey Employer
If you’re married to someone who works for the same company, your employer can limit your total amount of FMLA leave for parenting to 12 weeks for both of you. But whatever portion of your own 12 weeks of FMLA leave you don't use for parenting will still be available to you for other reasons, including your own serious health condition.
This rule doesn’t apply under New Jersey's parental leave law.
Part-Time or Reduced Schedule Leave Under NJ Laws
The FMLA allows you to take leave intermittently if it's medically necessary. For example, if you have a prenatal checkup, you don't have to take a whole day off. Instead, you can use a couple of hours of your FMLA leave and then go back to work.
But for parental leave, the rules are different. Under both the FMLA and the NJ family leave laws, you can only use your parental leave a little at a time if your employer agrees to it—you aren't automatically entitled to intermittent parenting leave. And if your employer agrees to let you use your parenting leave intermittently, you must complete your time off within one year after your new child arrives.
For intermittent FLI leave to bond with your child, you must notify your employer 15 days in advance of each anticipated absence.
FAQ About Maternity and Paternity Leave in New Jersey
Here are some frequently asked questions (and the answers) about New Jersey’s maternity and paternity leave laws:
How long is maternity leave in New Jersey?
For a normal pregnancy and delivery, you can typically get up to 4 weeks off before your child is born and 6 to 8 weeks afterward. But you’re also entitled to up to 12 consecutive weeks of parental leave after you’ve recovered from childbirth, for a potential total of 22 to 24 weeks off.
How do I apply for maternity leave in New Jersey?
You can apply for temporary disability (TDI) benefits and parental leave benefits (FLI) online at the NJ Department of Labor website.
Do men get paternity leave in New Jersey?
Yes. Under both the FMLA and NJFLA, both parents (regardless of gender) can take parental leave when a new child is born, adopted, or placed in the home for foster care.
Do I need to take my parental leave all at once?
Under the NJFLA, you don't need to take your leave all at once, but if you take parental leave intermittently, the law only protects your job for a total of 8 weeks off instead of the 12 weeks you’d get if you took it all at once.
Under the FMLA, if your employer agrees to it, you can take your 12 weeks per year of parental leave intermittently. But if your employer objects, you can’t break FMLA leave up. (Learn more about taking time off to have a baby under the FMLA.)
Most people, however, will qualify for paid leave through the FLI program, which allows intermittent benefits and should provide job protection for any time off during which you're receiving FLI benefits. But how the new job-protection right applies to intermittent leave isn't fully spelled out yet—the NJ Department of Labor (NJDOL) has said additional guidance, regulations, and forms are still forthcoming later in 2026. Check NJDOL's job protection page for updates, as the state has indicated it will post them there.
