New Jersey Family Medical Leave Act Info

Do you need to take emergency family, medical, disability, or other similar personal leave in New Jersey? Find out about the New Jersey Family Leave Law and the New Jersey Family Medical Leave Act and how it may or may not apply to you.

I've mentioned this before, but I'm going to say it again. Lately, everything I do turns into keyword research. I love writing and I've figured out a way to monetize it - I've found something I love and I'm getting paid for doing it. If you're interested in another way to create an income, check out my make money HubPages and the of course join HubPages.

Anyway, back in January '08 when I joined HubPages I was out on maternity leave. Unfortunately, at that time, I wasn't eligible for the financial safety net of the NJ Family Leave Act by my employer or NJ Disability by the state of New Jersey. Now, in 2009, after Governor Corzine had that debilitating accident a few years ago a new law has been passed and you many fall under it - the New Jersey Family (Medical) Leave Act. New Jersey is one of the first three states (Oregon and Washington are the other two) to put this type of law into effect.

The act will allow workers to take up to 6 weeks paid leave to care for a sick relative, a newborn or an adopted child.

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In April 2007 Governor Jon Corzine suffered broken ribs, a broken leg and several other fractures when the SUV in which he was riding swerved to avoid another vehicle on the Garden State Parkway and crashed into a guardrail.

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After Governor Corzine recovered from the very serious accident in Cooper Hospital in Camden, NJ he decided to fight for the New Jersey Family Leave Act to include six weeks paid leave, and beginning July 1, 2009, it will go into affect.

Starting very soon workers in New Jersey who have to take a leave from work due to the need to care for a sick relative or because of the birth of a child (adoption is included) should be eligible for 2/3 their weekly pay for 6 weeks. To find out if you are eligible for this kind of benefit, I would guess that you may want to check your pay stubs. Employers with 50 or more employees are required by law to participate in this new New Jersey law. I say check your pay stub because beginning January or 2009, New Jersey employees should have seen a very small amount deducted from their checks to help cover the cost of this new Family Leave Law. I'm not sure if it's a noticeable amount or not...

Of course, if you're unsure about whether or not you qualify, you may want to speak to someone in the Human Resources department of your place of employment - they should be able to direct you to additional information.

Also, I'm not sure if you receive the benefits via NJ Unemployment or NJ Disability. Below, find the links to apply for either.

The first day you go out on leave, you will want to file right away. It will take you a few weeks to receive your first payment, so you won't want to delay. If you are unsure which to file for (NJ Unemployment or NJ Disability), I would say it's better to be safe than sorry and file for both. Just make sure you communicate that you've filed for both to each of them so that you don't receive payouts from both. I'm not sure if that's even possible, but if it is, I'm, guessing you can get into a lot of trouble. Which ever one (application) is void, they'll cancel.

Quick note about filing for NJ Disability: You have to print and mail in the Disability application. If you know ahead of time you will be going out on leave (i.e. maternity leave) you will want to print the application ahead of time and have your employer fill in their portion so it's ready for mailing the first day your leave begins. If you don't have access to a printer, you can call New Jersey Disability and request an application be mailed to you.