New Jersey Expands Paid Family Leave

In February 2019, in a win for New Jersey advocates and families, Governor Phil Murphy signed the Paid Family Leave Extension into law. This law will increase the length of the existing benefit from six to twelve weeks, increase wage replacement to 85%, raise the maximum benefit to $860 per week, and provide job protection for workers in companies with more than 30 employees.

To ensure that more families understand and can take advantage of this benefit, the state also has set aside over 1 million dollars to advertise and promote the expansion. Other states with paid family and medical leave laws include California, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, and Washington State as well as Washington, D.C. and several other municipalities.