This bill amends the Family Leave Act to gradually extend job protection rights to employees of smaller employers, reducing the employee threshold from 30 to five over a two-year period. Initially, the threshold will be lowered to 20 employees upon the bill's effective date, then to 10 employees one year later, and finally to five employees two years after the effective date. Once fully implemented, employees of employers with five or more employees will be entitled to 12 weeks of job-protected leave, whether paid or unpaid, and will have the right to be reinstated to their positions after taking family temporary disability leave benefits or unpaid family leave.

Additionally, the bill ensures that employees who are eligible for both earned sick leave and temporary disability benefits or family temporary disability leave benefits can choose which type of leave to use and the order in which they take them, while prohibiting simultaneous receipt of multiple types of paid leave. The bill also clarifies that the reinstatement rights currently available to temporary disability insurance recipients will now apply to family leave recipients at smaller employers, thereby enhancing job security for a broader range of workers.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 34:11B-3, 43:21-55.2