Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FMLI)

If you live in a state with paid family leave, you can be paid while you are at the hospital with your child; this page explains how New Jersey, New York, and the other paid-leave states work in 2026 and how to file.

What You Need to Know First

There is no federal paid family leave. The federal FMLA protects your job for 12 weeks but pays nothing. The paycheck replacement comes from your state, and only about a dozen states plus D.C. have a program. New Jersey and New York both do, and both cover caring for a seriously ill child. If you work in one state and live in another, the program follows where you work.

Pay and job protection are two different things. New Jersey Family Leave Insurance (FLI) sends you money; whether your employer has to hold your job depends on the FMLA, the New Jersey Family Leave Act, or the new TDI/FLI job protection that took effect July 17, 2026. New York Paid Family Leave is built to do both, pay and job and health insurance protection, if you are eligible and your employer is covered. If you are not sure (public job, very small employer, recently hired), call the PFL helpline and ask. Always file the FMLA paperwork with your employer at the same time you file for state benefits.

File the week leave starts. New Jersey gives you 30 days from the first day of leave to file; New York gives you 30 days to get the claim package to the insurance carrier. Late filing can cost you weeks of benefits. Your child’s oncologist or the clinic’s nurse practitioner has to certify the illness, so hand them the form during your first clinic visit and ask the social worker who handles “leave forms” for the team.

The programs below focus on New Jersey and New York. Many states have similar programs; your hospital social worker can help you find the closest ones where you live.