SENATE BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 3451

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  DECEMBER 15, 2025

      The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 3451.

      As amended, this bill extends to employees of employers with 15 or more employees the right to be reinstated to employment after taking family temporary disability leave benefits or unpaid family leave, thus ensuring that more workers who pay for family temporary disability leave insurance (FLI) will be able to able to return to work after taking FLI benefits.  Under the bill, employees of employers with 15 or more employees will be entitled to 12 weeks of job protected leave, whether that leave is paid or unpaid.

      The bill provides that an employee, regardless of the size of the employer, who takes temporary disability benefits is entitled to be restored by the employer to the position held by the employee when the leave commenced or to an equivalent position of like seniority, status, employment benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment.  The bill also provides that an employee who takes family temporary disability leave benefits is entitled to be restored by the employer to the position held by the employee when the leave commenced or to an equivalent position, except that the bill is not to be construed as increasing, reducing, or otherwise modifying any entitlement provided to a worker by the provisions of the "Family Leave Act" to be restored to employment by the employer after a period of family temporary disability leave.

      Further, the bill reduces the minimum length of employment from 12 months to 6 months and the minimum base hours from 1,000 to 500 for an employee under the “Family Leave Act.”

      The bill provides that an employee who is eligible for both earned sick leave and either temporary disability benefits or family temporary disability leave benefits will have the option of using either the earned sick leave or whichever is applicable of temporary disability benefits or family temporary disability leave benefits, and may select the order in which the different kinds of leave are taken, but may not receive more than one kind of paid leave simultaneously during any period of time.

      As amended and reported by the committee, Assembly Bill No. 3451 is identical to Senate Bill No. 2950, which was also amended and reported by the committee on this date.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amended the bill to:

      (1)  provide FLI job protections to employees of employers with 15 or more employees;

      (2)  reduce the minimum length of employment from 12 months to 6 months and the minimum base hours from 1,000 to 500 for an employee under the “Family Leave Act;”

      (3)  change the effective date of the bill from immediately to six months after enactment.

FISCAL IMPACT:

      Fiscal information for this bill is currently unavailable.