Protections under New Jersey’s family leave law will now extend to employees at smaller businesses, following the signing of new legislation by outgoing Governor Phil Murphy on January 17.
Previously, only workers at companies with at least 30 employees were eligible for job-protected benefits under the state’s paid family leave program. The newly signed law, part of Assembly Bill 3451, lowers that threshold to include businesses with a minimum of 15 employees. Additionally, eligibility requirements have been relaxed so that workers who have been employed for at least three months—down from one year—can access these benefits.
An October 2025 report by Andrea Hall and Slawa Rokicki from the New Jersey State Policy Lab at Rutgers University stated: “The enrollment of paid family leave is increasing for both fathers and mothers, and parents are more likely to take paid family leave when a mandatory paid family leave policy is available.”
Despite these changes and growing participation in the program, awareness remains an issue. A study conducted in 2023 by Rutgers’ Heldrich Center for Workforce Development found that only 47% of New Jersey workers knew about paid family leave.
