03 Jul How does it work if I take off for a family emergency?

Q. I want to know if I have take off for a family emergency, how does the family leave process work? How long does it take to process?
— Planning ahead

A. We are sorry to hear that you are going to need to take some leave to attend to your family.

It depends, and you should really go to your human resources rep to go over how this will work in tandem with your company’s benefits.

But here are the basics.

The New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA) is a state law that provides unpaid leave for eligible employees in New Jersey to care for a family member with a serious health condition or after a new child joins a family through birth, adoption or foster placement, said Claudia Mott, a certified financial planner with Epona Financial Solutions in Basking Ridge.

She said the act provides for up to 12 weeks of leave within a 24-month period for eligible employees and ensures that they can return to the same position they had before taking leave.

“An eligible employee must have worked for an employer that is covered under the Act for at least 12 months and for at least 1,000 hours in that period of time,” she said. “The definition of a covered employer is one with 50 or more employees. Employers pay into the Family Leave program through payroll deductions usually labeled FLI on a paystub.”

According to the State of New Jersey website, an employee should provide 30 days’ notice for leave related to a child and 15 days’ for a family-member emergency.

The online application for Family Leave Insurance can be found here.

The application can be started up to 60 days before you anticipate taking leave, Mott said. You will have 30 days to complete the application if you file after starting your leave.

“It’s essential to make sure your application is complete and all required information is submitted correctly so that your claim is processed as quickly as it can be,” she said. “The estimated time before receiving benefits is 2 to 6 weeks. Applications sent via fax or mail will take longer than those completed online.”

Benefits are paid with a debit card that is sent via the mail from Money Network/My Banking Direct.

The amount you will receive is 85% of your average weekly wages up to a maximum of $1,081 per week for 2025. The average weekly wage is calculated by dividing base year earnings by the number of weeks that earnings exceeded $303 for 2025, Mott said.

Email your questions to Ask@NJMoneyHelp.com.

This story was originally published in July 2025.

NJMoneyHelp.com presents certain general financial planning principles and advice, but should never be viewed as a substitute for obtaining advice from a personal professional advisor who understands your unique individual circumstances.