Governor Phil Murphy signed S2304 into law to expand the State’s Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) and Family Leave Insurance (FLI) programs to provide more workers with access to paid leave benefits during public health emergencies.
“No one should have to decide between taking care of themselves or a sick family member and going to work during this pandemic,” Gov. Murphy said. “With this new law, we are providing hardworking men and women with the protections that they deserve and ensuring a healthier place to live and work.”
S2304 expands the law’s definition of a “serious health condition” to allow individuals access to TDI and FLI benefits during a public health emergency if they must take time off of work because they are diagnosed with or suspected of exposure to a communicable disease or to take care of a family member diagnosed with or suspected of exposure to a communicable disease.
The bill also expands New Jersey’s earned sick leave law to permit the use of earned sick time for isolation or quarantine recommended or ordered by a provider or public health official as a result of suspected exposure to a communicable disease, or to care for a family member under recommended or ordered isolation or quarantine.
Primary sponsors of S2304 include Senate President Stephen Sweeney, and Senator Nicholas Scutari and Assemblymembers Shavonda Sumter, Annette Chaparro, and Annette Quijano.