10. a. Family temporary disability leave shall be compensable subject to the limitations of P.L.2008, c.17 (C. 43:21-39.1 et al.) for any period of family temporary disability leave taken by a covered individual which commences after June 30, 2009.

b. An individual shall not simultaneously receive disability benefits for family temporary disability leave and any other disability benefits pursuant to P.L.1948, c.110 (C. 43:21-25 et al.) or any unemployment compensation, or any paid sick leave, vacation time or other leave at full pay from the employer of the individual.

c. The employer of an individual may, notwithstanding any other provision of law, including the provisions of N.J.S. 18A:30-1 et seq., permit the individual, during a period of family temporary disability leave, to use any paid sick leave, vacation time or other leave at full pay made available by the employer before the individual uses disability benefits for family temporary disability leave pursuant to P.L.2008, c.17 (C. 43:21-39.1 et al.). Nothing in P.L.2008, c.17 (C. 43:21-39.1 et al.) shall be construed as nullifying any provision of an existing collective bargaining agreement or employer policy, or preventing any new provision of a collective bargaining agreement or employer policy, which provides employees more generous leave or gives employees greater rights to select which kind of leave is used or select the order in which the different kinds of leave are used. Nothing in P.L.2008, c.17 (C. 43:21-39.1 et al.) shall be construed as preventing an employer from providing more generous benefits than are provided under P.L.2008, c.17 (C. 43:21-39.1 et al.) or providing benefits which supplement the benefits provided under P.L.2008, c.17 (C. 43:21-39.1 et al.) for some or all of the employer’s employees.

d. An individual who is entitled to leave under the provisions of the “Family Leave Act,” P.L.1989, c.261 (C. 34:11B-1 et seq.) or the federal “Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993,” Pub.L.103-3 (29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq.), shall take any benefits provided for family temporary disability leave pursuant to P.L.2008, c.17 (C. 43:21-39.1 et al.) concurrently with leave taken pursuant to the “Family Leave Act,” P.L.1989, c.261 (C. 34:11B-1 et seq.) or the federal “Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993,” Pub.L.103-3 (29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq.). Nothing in P.L.2008, c.17 (C. 43:21-39.1 et al.) shall be construed to grant an employee any entitlement to be restored by the employer to employment held by the employee prior to taking family temporary disability leave or any right to take action against an employer who refuses to restore the employee to employment after the leave. Nothing in P.L.2008, c.17 (C. 43:21-39.1 et al.) shall be construed to increase, reduce or otherwise modify any entitlement of an employee to return to employment or right of the employee to take action under the provisions of the “Family Leave Act,” P.L.1989, c.261 (C. 34:11B-1 et seq.). If an employee receives benefits for family temporary disability leave pursuant to P.L.2008, c.17 (C. 43:21-39.1 et al.) with respect to employment with an employer who is not an employer as defined in the “Family Leave Act,” P.L.1989, c.261 (C. 34:11B-1 et seq.) and that employer fails or refuses to restore the employee to employment after the period of family temporary disability leave, that failure or refusal shall not be a wrongful discharge in violation of a clear mandate of public policy, and the employee shall not have a cause of action against that employer, in tort, or for breach of an implied provision of the employment agreement, or under common law, for that failure or refusal.

e. An employee taking family temporary disability leave or an employer from whom the employee is taking the leave shall have the same right to appeal a determination of a benefit for the family temporary disability leave made under P.L.2008, c.17 (C. 43:21-39.1 et al.) as an employee or employer has to appeal a determination of a benefit for the disability of the employee under the “Temporary Disability Benefits Law,” P.L.1948, c.110 (C. 43:21-25 et al.), and any regulations adopted pursuant to the “Temporary Disability Benefits Law,” P.L.1948, c.110 (C. 43:21-25 et al.).

f. In the event of a period of family temporary disability leave of any individual covered under the State plan, the employer shall, not later than the ninth day of the period of family temporary disability leave, or not later than the ninth day after the employee notifies the employer of an anticipated period of family temporary disability leave pursuant to subsection h. of this section, whichever comes first, including any time in which the employer provides sick leave, vacation or other fully paid leave, issue to the individual and to the division printed notices on division forms containing the name, address and Social Security number of the individual, such wage information as the division may require to determine the individual’s eligibility for benefits, including any sick pay, vacation or other fully paid time off provided by the employer during the period of family temporary disability leave, and the name, address, and division identity number of the employer. Not later than 30 days after the commencement of the period of family temporary disability leave for which the notice is furnished by the employer, the individual shall furnish to the division a notice and claim for family temporary disability leave benefits. Upon the submission of the notices by the employer and the individual, and the commencement of the compensable portion of the family temporary disability leave pursuant to P.L.2008, c.17 (C. 43:21-39.1 et al.), the division may issue benefit payments. In the case of family temporary disability leave taken to care for a family member with a serious health condition, the benefits may be paid for periods not exceeding three weeks pending the receipt of the certification required pursuant to subsection b. of section 11 of P.L.2008, c.17 (C. 43:21-39.2). Failure to furnish notice and certification in the manner above provided shall not invalidate or reduce any claim if it shall be shown to the satisfaction of the division not to have been reasonably possible to furnish the notice and certification and that the notice and certification was furnished as soon as reasonably possible.

g. Each covered employer shall conspicuously post notification, in a place or places accessible to all employees in each of the employer’s workplaces, in a form issued by regulation promulgated by the commissioner, of each covered employee’s rights regarding benefits payable pursuant to this section. The employer shall also provide each employee of the employer with a written copy of the notification: (1) not later than 30 days after the form of the notification is issued by regulation; (2) at the time of the employee’s hiring, if the employee is hired after the issuance; (3) whenever the employee notifies the employer that the employee is taking time off for circumstances under which the employee is eligible for benefits pursuant to this section; and (4) at any time, upon the first request of the employee.

h. With respect to any period of family temporary disability leave commencing on or after October 4, 2019 if an individual knows in advance when the period will commence, the individual may notify the employer of the anticipated period of family temporary disability leave and submit to the division a claim for benefits for that period, which shall include a statement of when the period will commence and any certification required pursuant to subsection b. of section 11 of P.L.2008, c.17 (C. 43:21-39.2), prior to, but not more than 60 days prior to, the date that the period will commence. The division shall process that claim immediately and, upon finding that the claim is valid, shall pay the benefit upon the commencement of the period of family temporary disability leave, except that if the division receives the claim less than 30 days before the commencement of the period, the division shall make the payment not more than 30 days after the receipt of the claim. The periods of family temporary disability leave to which the provisions of this subsection apply shall include, but not be limited to, any of the following if the commencement date of the leave is known in advance: periods of leave for care of a child of the individual after adoption, the placement of a child into foster care, or childbirth, including childbirth under a valid agreement between the individual and a gestational carrier; periods of leave for scheduled medical procedures, treatments, or appointments for a family member of the individual; and periods of leave for scheduled ongoing care of a family member of the individual. If the individual did not establish enough base weeks or have enough total earnings during the base year preceding the week the individual submits the claim, the division shall notify the individual that the individual may file the claim again upon or after the commencement of the period of family temporary disability leave and the division shall then reconsider the individual’s eligibility for benefits based on the base year preceding the week in which the period of family temporary disability leave commences.

L.2008, c.17, s.10; amended 2018, c.128, s.2; 2019, c.37, s.13.