Guide
How NJ Family Leave Insurance (FLI) Works
Family Leave Insurance pays you a portion of your wages while you bond with a new baby or care for a seriously ill family member. It is a New Jersey state program, funded by a small deduction on your paycheck — and in 2026 it replaces 85% of your average weekly wage, up to $1,119 a week.
What FLI covers — and what it doesn’t
FLI is for time away from work for someone else’s needs: bonding with a newborn, a newly adopted or fostered child, or caring for a family member with a serious health condition. It does not cover your own illness or injury — that is Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI), covered in our companion guide. Parents often use the two in sequence: TDI for pregnancy and delivery recovery, then FLI for bonding.
FLI is also money only. It pays benefits; it does not by itself guarantee your job will be held. Job protection comes from separate laws — as of July 17, 2026, workers who receive FLI (or TDI) benefits have reinstatement rights during their leave if they aren’t already covered by the NJ Family Leave Act or federal FMLA, with no minimum employer size. The NJ Family Leave Act itself covers employers with 15 or more employees, and you qualify after 3 months and 250 hours worked. Confirm your own situation with your employer before you go out.
Who is eligible
Eligibility is based on your earnings in your base year — the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before your leave starts. The state counts every week in that period in which you earned at least $310 (the 2026 “base week” amount). To qualify, you generally need either:
- 20 base weeks of New Jersey earnings, or
- at least $15,500 in base-year earnings (the 2026 alternative earnings test).
You must also be on an approved leave from a covered New Jersey job. Each parent has their own claim based on their own wages — both parents can take bonding leave for the same baby, at the same time or staggered, as long as it falls within the child’s first 12 months.
How the benefit is calculated
The formula is the same one our estimator uses:
- The state totals your base-year earnings and divides by your number of base weeks to get your average weekly wage.
- Your weekly benefit is 85% of that average weekly wage.
- The benefit is capped at $1,119 per week for claims starting in 2026 — you reach the cap at an average weekly wage of about $1,317.
Worked example: if your average weekly wage is $1,150, your benefit is 85% of $1,150 — $978 a week (the state rounds). Over an 8-week bonding leave, that is about $7,824 before any tax withholding. Note that a recent raise barely moves the number: the benefit comes from your base-year record, not your current paycheck.
How long it lasts
Taken in one continuous stretch, FLI pays for up to 12 weeks (84 days). Taken intermittently — a day here, a week there — the limit is 56 individual days in a 12-month period, and each day pays 1/7 of your weekly benefit. There is no waiting week: FLI pays from your first approved day of leave.
How to apply
- Plan your dates and tell your employer. For a continuous bonding leave, you generally must give your employer 30 days’ notice.
- File on time. File your claim within 30 days of your first day of leave. Bonding claims can be started up to 60 days ahead.
- Complete every section. For caregiving claims, the family member’s health care provider must complete the medical section; for bonding, you’ll provide the child’s information. Incomplete applications — especially a missing medical or employer section — are the main cause of delays.
- Watch the mail. Once approved, benefits are paid on a Money Network / My Banking Direct prepaid debit card mailed in a plain, unmarked envelope — it looks like junk mail, so open everything. There is no direct deposit for FLI, though you can set up an automatic transfer from the card to your own bank account. After the first payment, payments usually arrive about every two weeks, with funds on the card within three business days of the payment date.
Taxes on FLI benefits
FLI benefits are taxable for federal income tax but are not taxed by New Jersey. When you apply, you can elect to have 10% withheld for federal tax from each payment; either way you will receive a Form 1099-G after year-end. If you skip withholding, set aside roughly a tenth of each payment so April isn’t a surprise.
Ready to run your numbers? Use the free FLI estimator — it takes about 20 seconds and nothing you enter leaves your browser.
Open the FLI estimator