NJ FMLA
joyce
37 Posts
A recent New Jersey employee was placed on FMLA leave. Our policy is that employees must use sick time concurrently with FMLA time. Subsequently she applied for NJ Short Term Disability and when she discovered she was unable to collect STD (due to the fact she was required to use sick pay), she was quite upset. Are we within our rights to require the use of sick time (which prevents the employee from receiving STD during that time)? Also, in NJ an employee may use NJ Family Leave for the birth of a child (but not for the employee's own serious health condition). Therefore, how does this interact with federal FMLA leave?
Comments
The New Jersey Family leave act allows an employee to take a 12 week leave within a 24 month period to care for a sick family member, newly born or adopted child, provided the leave begins within one year of the date of birth or placement for adoption of the child. Also, NJ Family leave is separate from and in addition to any disability leave for which an employee may be elegible, including disability leave authorized under Federal FMLA. This means that if you have an employee out on leave for the birth/adoption of a child, they are entitled to Federal FMLA, and NJ Family Leave. And to make things even more compliated, the state of NJ provides disability to pregnant woment 4 weeks prior to giving birth and 6-8 weeks following birth. This 10+ week period is considered disability under federal FMLA. In essence, a NJ employee taking family leave to care for a new born child is elegible for 22+ weeks of leave (10-12 weeks disability, 12 weeks for "caring" or "bonding). Remember, you can run concurrently the "caring/bonding" portion but not the disability portion.
Hopefully your company has a cap on sick leave otherwise you will be paying this individual for almost 6 months.
Good Luck