The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law allowing eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period for personal medical reasons, to care for a family member, and for qualifying exigencies related to the foreign deployment of a military member who is the employee’s spouse, child, or parent.  An eligible employee who is a covered service member’s spouse, child, parent, or next of kin may also take up to 26 weeks of FMLA leave in a single 12-month period to care for the service member with a serious injury or illness.

When an employee returns from FMLA leave, an employer is required in many circumstances to reinstate the employee to the position he or she held before taking leave or to a position with equivalent benefits, pay, and other terms of employment.

Employers are also prohibited from discriminating or retaliating against an employee who requests or takes FMLA leave.

The New Jersey Paid Sick Leave Act, requires employers, to provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year to covered employees.