Securing time off for family leave is an important part of life.
Both the New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFMLA) and the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provide that covered employers must grant eligible employees time off from work in connection with birth or adoption of a child or the serious illness of a parent, child or spouse.
Some of the provisions of these laws regarding eligibility include:
- For the FMLA, the spouse, son, daughter and parents of the employee are considered to be immediate family members for purposes of taking leave.
- Under the FMLA, a parent-in-law is not considered to be a parent, but under the NJFLA a parent-in-law is considered to be an immediate family member to whom the law applies.
- For purposes of the FMLA, the term parent refers to a biological parent, or a person has or had the status of in loco parentis to the employee when the employee was a son or daughter.
- Under the NJFLA, a parent is a biological parent, adoptive parent, resource family parent, step-parent, parent-in-law or legal guardian, having a parent-child relationship with a child as defined by law, or having sole or joint legal or physical custody, care, guardianship or visitation with a child.
- Under the FMLA, a son or daughter must be less than 18 years old, unless found to be incapable of self-care due to a mental or physical disability that limits one or more defined major life activities.
A skilled attorney can further explain the differences between the federal and state laws to you and can advise you of your rights under the laws.