Leaves General

The New Jersey medical leave attorneys and family leave lawyers of Lenzo & Reis understand that New Jersey employees are entitled to leaves under various state and federal laws. The most obvious of those laws are the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29 U.S.C. 2601 (FMLA) and New Jersey Family Leave Act, N.J.S.A. 34:11B-1. The FMLA provides up to twelve weeks of job-protected unpaid leave in any given year for qualifying employees who need leave for their own serious medical condition or the medical condition of certain family members. Similarly, qualifying employees may be entitled to as much as twelve weeks of unpaid family leave in any 24-month period to care for certain family members with serious medical conditions under the New Jersey Family Leave Act.

Most New Jersey workers wrongly believe that their leave entitlements stop there. Nothing could be further from the truth. For example, while certain pregnant employees and/or new mothers and fathers are entitled to take maternity leave or paternity leave under the FMLA and/or FLA, all New Jersey pregnant women are entitled to take leave as an accommodation of their pregnancy under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, N.J.S.A. 10:5-1. Similarly, employees not entitled to the protections of the FMLA for leave they may need for their own disability and/or serious medical condition, may find that they are legally entitled to leave as an accommodation under the Law Against Discrimination, N.J.S.A. 10:5-1. The New Jersey Paid Sick Leave Act, N.J.S.A. 34:11D-1, makes clear that all New Jersey employees are entitled to up to 40 hours of earned, paid sick leave per year. Lastly, under the New Jersey SAFE Act, N.J.S.A. 34:11C-1, New Jersey workers are entitled to take job protected leave if they or certain family members are the victims of domestic violence or a sexual assault.

The various leave laws applicable to New Jersey employees allow workers to file suit if they are being denied leave to which they are legally entitled. Successful employees, in such lawsuits, can often recover lost back wages, future lost wages, emotional distress damages, attorneys’ fees, and costs in addition to other damages.

Understanding Your Legal Right to Leave Can Be One of the Most Important Investments You Make

Few things are more disturbing than having to make the decision between taking time off for your own medical condition or that of a family member and keeping your job, which oftentimes is tied to your and/or your family’s medical insurance. The truth is that, in New Jersey, most employees do not have to make those incredibly difficult decisions because they may be entitled to leave under one of our various family leave and/or medical leave laws.

Understanding what your legal rights are to leave, what your employer’s obligations are, and even what your obligations are when taking leave can put your mind at ease when you have far more serious things on which to focus. Yet, these various laws can be so complicated that even companies’ HR departments and lawyers get them wrong. The New Jersey family leave attorneys and New Jersey medical leave lawyers at Lenzo & Reis have not only represented thousands of employees in leave cases, they have also answered their questions about the various leave laws and provided guidance on how they can successfully take the leave they need.

What Should You Do If You Do Not Understand or are Being Denied Your Rights Under any Leave Laws?

If you need legal assistance regarding medical leave, family leave, sick leave, and/or SAFE Act leave, you should contact New Jersey’s leave attorneys at Lenzo & Reis either by phone at (973) 845-9922 or e-mail by clicking here. We have helped more clients than we can possibly count understand their legal entitlement to job-protected leave and take the leave they need so that they could focus on more important things.