Castronovo & McKinney, LLC represents employees in Bergen County, NJ whose employers violate their rights under the New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA). If your employer has denied protected family leave, interfered with your rights, or retaliated against you for requesting or taking leave, our attorneys can help you enforce your rights under New Jersey law.
When you contact Castronovo & McKinney, LLC, you will speak directly with an attorney who understands the NJFLA and how it applies to your situation. We evaluate your case, explain your legal options, and pursue the compensation and remedies available when employers fail to comply with the law.
Understanding Your Rights Under the New Jersey Family Leave Act
The New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA) allows eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of protected family leave during a 24-month period. Eligible employees may use this leave to:
- Bond with a newborn, adopted, or foster child.
- Care for a family member with a serious health condition.
- Assist certain family members during a qualifying public health emergency.
Unlike the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the NJFLA does not provide leave for an employee’s own serious medical condition.
Employees who take qualifying NJFLA leave are generally entitled to continued health insurance coverage under the same terms as before their leave and must be reinstated to the same or a substantially equivalent position when they return.
To qualify, employees generally must have worked for their employer for at least 12 months and completed 1,250 hours during the previous 12 months. Advance notice is typically required—30 days for childbirth or adoption and 15 days for leave to care for a family member when foreseeable. Different notice requirements may apply in emergencies.
Employers cannot interfere with an employee’s NJFLA rights or retaliate against someone for requesting or taking protected leave.
Qualifying Reasons for NJFLA Leave
Employees may qualify for NJFLA leave to:
- Bond with a newborn, adopted, or foster child within one year of birth or placement.
- Care for a family member with a serious health condition, including a child, spouse, parent, domestic partner, civil union partner, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, parent-in-law, or other qualifying family member under New Jersey law.
- Provide care or assistance to a qualifying family member during certain public health emergencies.
Common NJFLA Violations
Employers may violate the NJFLA by:
- Wrongfully denying eligible leave requests.
- Refusing leave for the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child.
- Demoting, disciplining, or terminating employees for taking protected leave.
- Using protected leave as a negative factor in performance reviews, promotions, or disciplinary decisions.
- Failing to restore employees to the same or an equivalent position after leave.
- Improperly treating NJFLA leave and FMLA leave as interchangeable when different legal requirements apply.
Because the NJFLA and FMLA provide separate protections, employers must comply with the specific requirements of each law.
How Castronovo & McKinney, LLC Can Help
If your employer denied your NJFLA rights or retaliated against you for exercising them, Castronovo & McKinney, LLC can help you pursue legal action. Depending on the circumstances, you may be entitled to recover:
- Lost wages and benefits.
- Compensation for emotional distress when permitted by law.
- Punitive damages in appropriate cases.
- Attorney’s fees and court costs.
If you live or work in Bergen County, NJ and believe your employer violated the New Jersey Family Leave Act, contact Castronovo & McKinney, LLC. We represent employees throughout New Jersey and are committed to protecting your workplace rights and holding employers accountable for unlawful conduct.
