---
title: "New Jersey Paid Family and Sick Leave 2026"
description: "New Jersey runs Family Leave Insurance (12 weeks at 85% of wages), disability to 26 weeks, and earned sick leave from day one. FMLA holds the job."
canonical: https://www.teamed.global/country-hiring-guides/united-states/new-jersey/paid-family-and-sick-leave
---

United States · New Jersey · Leave child

Served by Teamed US Inc., Delaware · Payroll via SUNA Solutions

# What *paid family and sick leave* does New Jersey require in 2026?

Three state programmes employees pay into: Family Leave Insurance worth 12 weeks at 85% of wages, Temporary Disability Insurance for up to 26 weeks, and earned sick leave accruing 1 hour per 30 hours worked. Federal FMLA holds the job; the state pays the wages.

Last reviewed 17 July 2026 · New Jersey, United States guide

![A new parent on a Jersey City stoop at sunrise cradling a newborn, the Hudson River and the Manhattan skyline glowing across the water, a NJ Transit train crossing the foreground.](/cluster-assets/country-hiring-guides/united-states/new-jersey/paid-family-and-sick-leave/images/hero.webp)

Illustration · Jersey City, New Jersey

New Jersey is one of the most generous paid-leave states in the country. Three programmes apply to every employer: [state Family Leave Insurance](https://myleavebenefits.nj.gov/) paying **85% of wages** for up to **12 weeks**, Temporary Disability Insurance for up to **26 weeks**, and [earned sick leave](https://www.nj.gov/labor/wagehour/leanrn/earnedsickleave.shtml) that accrues from the first hour worked.

If you run a national FMLA-only policy in New Jersey, you are short from day one. FLI and TDI are funded mostly by employee payroll deductions and pay benefits the state writes directly, and earned sick leave has no headcount threshold at all. [Federal FMLA](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla) only decides who holds the job while the state pays the cheque. Compare how the three-programme stack plays out against neighbouring states: [New York](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/new-york/paid-family-and-sick-leave) and [Connecticut](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/connecticut/paid-family-and-sick-leave) run their own paid-leave funds with different contribution structures.

## What paid leave must New Jersey employers provide?

Three state programmes apply on top of federal law: [Family Leave Insurance (FLI)](https://myleavebenefits.nj.gov/), [Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI)](https://myleavebenefits.nj.gov/worker/tdi/), and [earned sick leave](https://www.nj.gov/labor/wagehour/leanrn/earnedsickleave.shtml).

FLI and earned sick leave reach essentially every employer, with no 50-employee threshold. FLI and TDI are state-run wage-replacement funds you collect for through payroll; earned sick leave is time you accrue and pay directly. See how New Jersey compares on [wage and overtime obligations](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/new-jersey/wage-overtime-and-meal-break-law) for the same workforce.

| Programme | What it provides | Who pays in 2026 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Family Leave Insurance](https://myleavebenefits.nj.gov/) | Up to 12 weeks of paid family leave, 85% wage replacement | Employee-funded at 0.23% of wages; no employer contribution |
| [Temporary Disability Insurance](https://myleavebenefits.nj.gov/worker/tdi/) | Up to 26 weeks of paid medical leave, 85% wage replacement | Employee 0.19%; employer 0.50% (new employer) |
| [Earned sick leave](https://www.nj.gov/labor/wagehour/leanrn/earnedsickleave.shtml) | 1 hour accrued per 30 hours worked, up to 40 hours/year | Employer-funded; no contribution rate |
| [Federal FMLA](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla) (floor) | 12 weeks unpaid, job protected | Unpaid; applies at 50+ employees |

The assumption that catches out-of-state employers is the 50-employee rule. [Federal FMLA](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla) hits at 50 employees, but New Jersey FLI, TDI and earned sick leave apply from your first New Jersey hire. A three-person Newark team carries the same FLI and TDI payroll deductions and the same sick-leave accrual as a 3,000-person enterprise. New Jersey [state income tax and unemployment insurance](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/new-jersey/state-income-tax-and-unemployment-insurance) runs on the same payroll alongside these contributions.

## How does New Jersey Family Leave Insurance work in 2026?

[NJ FLI](https://myleavebenefits.nj.gov/) gives eligible employees up to **12 weeks of paid family leave** in a 12-month period to bond with a new child or care for a seriously ill family member, paying **85% of their average weekly wage** up to a weekly maximum of **$1,119**.

FLI is funded entirely by employees. The 2026 employee contribution is **0.23% of taxable wages** up to a wage base of $171,100, capped at $393.53 for the year. Employers make no FLI contribution. That makes FLI the rare state programme where your cost as employer is zero beyond the administration of collecting the deduction.

The benefit is paid directly by the [New Jersey Division of Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance](https://myleavebenefits.nj.gov/), so your payroll runs unchanged through the leave. Employees can take the 12 weeks continuously, or spread them out intermittently in smaller blocks, which suits a phased return after a birth or a recurring caregiving need.

FLI replaces wages; it does not by itself protect the job. Job protection comes from the [federal FMLA](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla) and the New Jersey Family Leave Act, each of which has its own employer-size and eligibility tests. A worker can qualify for FLI wage replacement before, or without, qualifying for statutory job protection, and you track both clocks. For how job protection works at termination, see [New Jersey termination law and at-will exceptions](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/new-jersey/termination-law-and-at-will-exceptions).

| FLI dimension | 2026 rule |
| --- | --- |
| Benefit duration | Up to 12 weeks per 12-month period |
| Wage replacement | 85% of average weekly wage |
| Weekly maximum | $1,119 |
| Employee contribution | 0.23% of wages to $171,100 |
| Maximum annual deduction | $393.53 |

## How does New Jersey Temporary Disability Insurance work in 2026?

[NJ TDI](https://myleavebenefits.nj.gov/worker/tdi/) pays eligible employees up to **26 weeks** of benefits for a non-work-related illness or injury, including recovery from pregnancy and childbirth, at **85% of their average weekly wage** up to **$1,119 a week**.

Unlike FLI, TDI is split. Employees pay **0.19% of wages** up to a $171,100 wage base, and employers pay **0.50%** as a new employer on a separate, lower employer wage base of $44,800. The two rates, two bases, and split funding make TDI the contribution most likely to go wrong on a first New Jersey payroll run.

TDI is the disability half of New Jersey's state-plan leave, and FLI is the family half. A pregnancy is the clearest example of how they stack: an employee typically draws [TDI](https://myleavebenefits.nj.gov/worker/tdi/) for the medical recovery period around the birth, then moves onto [FLI](https://myleavebenefits.nj.gov/) to bond with the child. The two run back to back, not at the same time.

The two TDI wage bases trip up payroll teams new to the state. The employee deduction of 0.19% runs against the higher $171,100 base, while the employer rate of 0.50% (new employer) runs against the lower $44,800 base. Get the two bases the wrong way round and the contribution is wrong on every paycheque. The maximum worker TDI deduction for the year is $325.09. New York's paid family leave programme runs a similar back-to-back structure; see [New York paid family and sick leave](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/new-york/paid-family-and-sick-leave) for comparison.

## How much earned sick leave does New Jersey require?

Every New Jersey employee accrues earned sick leave at **1 hour for every 30 hours worked**, up to **40 hours a year**, with no employer-size threshold.

Employers of every size must provide it to full-time, part-time and temporary employees. The rule comes from the [New Jersey Earned Sick Leave Law (N.J.S.A. 34:11D-1)](https://www.nj.gov/labor/wagehour/leanrn/earnedsickleave.shtml).

Covered uses are broad: an employee's own illness or that of a family member, time for a medical appointment, time related to domestic or sexual violence, and time to attend a child's school-related event. New Jersey's family definition reaches well beyond the federal one, so the same hours cover a wider set of caregiving situations. Connecticut and New York both run comparable statewide earned sick leave rules; see [Connecticut paid family and sick leave](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/connecticut/paid-family-and-sick-leave) for how the accrual rates compare.

Up to 40 unused hours carry over to the next benefit year, though an employer can still cap use at 40 hours per year. A national policy that accrues less than 1 hour per 30 worked is short on every New Jersey payroll, and unlike many states the rule applies statewide with no local-ordinance patchwork to reconcile. Review your [New Jersey wage and overtime obligations](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/new-jersey/wage-overtime-and-meal-break-law) alongside the sick leave rules, as both apply from the first hire.

## How does federal FMLA interact with New Jersey leave?

[Federal FMLA](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla) gives up to **12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave** at employers with **50 or more employees** within a 75-mile radius. In New Jersey it usually runs concurrently with TDI and FLI wage benefits.

The state programmes pay the wages; FMLA and the New Jersey Family Leave Act hold the job. An eligible employee files an FLI or TDI claim and takes protected leave at the same time, not one after the other.

US DOL Wage and Hour Division · FMLA

File a New Jersey FLI or TDI claim and the 50-employee FMLA threshold becomes the other clock you watch. FMLA counts your entire US workforce, and eligibility needs 12 months of tenure and 1,250 hours worked in the prior year. New Jersey FLI and TDI use their own eligibility tests, so a Newark hire can draw state wage benefits before they are FMLA-eligible.

Source: [US Department of Labor, Family and Medical Leave Act](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla)

Where both apply, run them concurrently: the FLI or TDI claim funds the wages while FMLA (and the New Jersey Family Leave Act) preserves the role. FMLA adds up to 26 weeks of military caregiver leave on top. The [Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (EEOC)](https://www.eeoc.gov/pwfa) requires reasonable accommodation at any employer with 15 or more employees, separate from any leave entitlement. For the termination and job-protection side, see [New Jersey termination law and at-will exceptions](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/new-jersey/termination-law-and-at-will-exceptions).

## How Teamed runs New Jersey leave end to end

Teamed becomes your [legal employer of record](/employer-of-record) in New Jersey for [**from $599 per employee per month flat**](/pricing), with **zero FX mark-up**. We run FLI and TDI contribution collection, the two TDI wage bases, earned sick leave accrual and FMLA tracking.

Everything runs on **one platform** with **Real HR and legal experts** with deep local employment-law expertise. **An actual person**, not a chatbot or a pooled queue, alongside a US compliance team.

What that looks like, day to day: a leave concierge files the state claim with the [New Jersey Division of Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance](https://myleavebenefits.nj.gov/) and sequences the 26-week TDI clock into the 12-week FLI clock for a pregnancy; the sick-leave ledger accrues 1 hour per 30 worked and caps at 40 hours; and the 0.23% FLI and 0.19% TDI employee deductions are withheld on the right wage base on the same run.

There is **no setup fee and no exit fee**, and statutory employer cost **passes through at cost, itemised** on every invoice. Contractor onboarding, [EOR payroll](/employer-of-record) and entity graduation all live on one platform: a New Jersey contractor who converts to W-2 keeps their record, and that same employee can **graduate** to your own US entity without switching systems. Use the [New Jersey employer cost calculator](https://www.teamed.global/tools/employer-cost) to see the full cost before you hire, or the [Crossover Calculator](https://www.teamed.global/tools/crossover-calculator) to see the month the model flips. EOR is the right model for a first New Jersey hire, **until it isn't**.

Teamed Legal Operations

New Jersey is the opposite of a no-program state. FLI, TDI and earned sick leave all apply from your first Newark hire, with no 50-employee threshold to hide behind. The work is not deciding whether to offer leave, it is collecting the right contribution on the right wage base, sequencing TDI into FLI for a pregnancy so you do not double-count the weeks, and running the state benefit concurrently with FMLA job protection. Get the sequence wrong and you give away leave the statute never required.

A note from Tom Price-Daniel

New Jersey does not leave paid leave to the offer letter. The state runs it.  
Family Leave Insurance pays 85% of wages for up to 12 weeks, disability cover runs to 26 weeks, and sick time accrues from the first hour worked.  
Your job is to administer it cleanly. An FMLA-only handbook is short in New Jersey from the first paycheque.

Tom Price-Daniel · Co-founder, Teamed

## Related United States guides

- [New Jersey state tax & unemployment insurance](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/new-jersey/state-income-tax-and-unemployment-insurance)sibling
- [New Jersey wage, overtime & meal break law](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/new-jersey/wage-overtime-and-meal-break-law)sibling
- [New Jersey termination law & at-will exceptions](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/new-jersey/termination-law-and-at-will-exceptions)sibling
- [Hiring in the United States, overview](/country-hiring-guides/united-states)country parent
- [New York paid family & sick leave](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/new-york/paid-family-and-sick-leave)neighbour (state-leave contrast)
- [Connecticut paid family & sick leave](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/connecticut/paid-family-and-sick-leave)neighbour (state-leave contrast)
- [Employer of Record overview](/employer-of-record)core
- [Pricing, Zero FX Fixed](/pricing)core
- [New Jersey employer cost calculator](https://www.teamed.global/tools/employer-cost)tool
- [EOR vs Entity Crossover Calculator](https://www.teamed.global/tools/crossover-calculator)tool
- [Talk to an expert](https://www.teamed.global/contact)CTA

A note on this page.

This is a guide, not legal advice. New Jersey's FLI and TDI contribution rates, wage bases, weekly maximums and benefit weeks, and the earned-sick-leave rules update over time, and job-protection thresholds under the New Jersey Family Leave Act change in July 2026. Confirm specific figures with the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, myleavebenefits.nj.gov, or your Teamed US specialist before relying on any number here.