The new law extending benefits under New Jersey’s Family Leave Act is taking effect on July 17, 2026, bringing more small businesses, including funeral homes, under its provisions.

The revisions, signed by former Governor Phil Murphy in January 2026, just before he left office, lower the threshold at which employers are subject to the act from 30 employees to 15. Murphy estimated that the extension would bring more than 400,000 additional employees under the act.

Key Takeaways

• New law lowers New Jersey Family Leave Act coverage threshold from 30 to 15 employees on July 17, 2026
• Eligible employees gain expanded leave protections, including many part-time, newer and small-business workers
• Employer coverage will expand further, dropping to 10 employees in 2027 and five in 2028

The Family Leave Act ensures that employees of affected businesses can take leave to care for a family member with a serious health condition or who has been isolated because of suspected exposure to a communicable disease during a state of emergency, to bond with a newborn child or adopted or foster child, or to provide required care or treatment for a child if their school or place of care is closed by order of a public official or public health emergency. The act allows for 12 weeks of leave every 24 months for eligible employees, whose jobs and status will be protected during their leave.

The law stipulates that covered employees do not need to be full-time workers, and employees only need to be working for three months and have worked 250 hours during the previous 12 months before they are covered.

“These changes strengthen one of New Jersey's most important worker protections by ensuring more people can take the time they need with the confidence that their job will be there when they return,” Kevin D. Jarvis, acting commissioner of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, said in a press release.

Among other provisions, the new law allows for:

• Workers who receive Temporary Disability Insurance or Family Leave Insurance benefits have job protection during their leave in addition to or if they are not already covered by NJFLA or the federal Family and Medical Leave Act
• No minimum employer size or length-of-employment requirements for temporary disability insurance and family leave insurance benefits (eligibility for TDI and FLI benefits is based on recent earnings)
• Expanded protections to benefit employees of small businesses, newer employees, many part-time workers and individuals receiving benefits related to domestic or sexual violence
• Employees eligible for both New Jersey Earned Sick Leave and either TDI or FLI to elect which benefit to use and the order in which to take them (however, employees may not receive more than one kind of paid leave simultaneously)

There are some hazy areas in the law, according to Fox Rothschild, a national law firm.

“It is unclear whether the statute providing for TDI/FLI can provide a right to reinstatement and at the same time, specifically not modify when protected leave is required under the NJFLA,” a post on the Fox Rothschild website says. “Because the text creates irreconcilable differences and legislative intent is unclear, judicial interpretation is unpredictable: New Jersey Courts could limit the provision to restoration rights coextensive with valid leave that overlaps with TDI/FLI benefits, or they could recognize a new reinstatement obligation tied to benefits for any sized employer.”

Even funeral homes with fewer than 15 employees will eventually feel the effects of the new provisions. On July 17, 2027, the eligibility threshold will drop to 10 employees. And on July 17, 2028, the threshold decreases again to five employees.

The department has put together answers to some frequently asked questions concerning the new law, which can be found here. A similar list for employees can be found here. An explanation of some of the revisions has been posted here.

Compliance Help Is Available

As employment laws continue to evolve, Thanexus, Inc. is available to help you navigate new regulatory requirements and support your compliance efforts. Our team can provide guidance and resources to help your organization stay current with changing federal, state, and local employment laws.

For more information about joining Thanexus as a shareholder, contact Jonathan C. Krowicki at 888-309-5137.

Where else besides Atlantic City can you dine at iconic and popular restaurants, hang out on the beach and climb inside a giant elephant in the same day?

For those who attend the 2026 Funeral Directors Convention and Expo at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City, these attractions and more await. The event, to be held from September 15 through September 17, 2026, will leave plenty of time for exploring all the city, known as America’s Playground, has to offer.

And Atlantic City has a lot to do and see. Here are a few of the highlights:

Iconic Attractions

Atlantic City has a more than 100-year reputation as a place where fun meets the ocean, and part of that fun is the places your grandparents talked about.

Steel Pier for example, has been around since the late 1800s, offering thrills and memories for those who visit. An amusement pier, its rides are as good as a lot of theme parks, with the added benefit of ocean views. Those rides even pay homage to the pier’s storied past, with the Diving Horse taking on the name of an old attraction that featured a horse diving into a pool.

For sheer Jersey kitsch, you can’t beat Lucy the Elephant, the famed 65-foot pachyderm that borders the Atlantic Ocean in nearby Margate. Called the oldest roadside attraction in the United States, Lucy is celebrating its 145th birthday this year. Step inside and climb up into its howdah for a great view of the ocean and Margate.

Prefer a quieter visit? Try the Absecon Lighthouse, New Jersey’s tallest lighthouse at 171 feet. Built in 1854 and first active in 1857, the lighthouse offers climbs Monday through Thursday in September, but the entire site is a jewel along the shore.

Fun and Frolic

If you’re more interested in water activities, the Island Waterpark may be for you. Located at the Showboat, the waterpark features slides, a wave rider and a lazy river for the less adventurous. If you’d rather just relax, the park’s Bliss Pool is a quieter option, and the Swim-Up Lounge there offers cocktails.

A beautiful and informative stroll also awaits at the Atlantic City Aquarium, a year-round venue in Gardner’s Basin that features a 225-pound loggerhead sea turtle, plus plenty of tropical species and crustaceans hanging out in fun exhibits.

Be prepared to kick up your AC experience with shows and nightlife as well. From casino bars and concert venues to nightclubs featuring drinks and dancing, Atlantic City wants you to keep the party going well into the night. View various casinos’ websites for show listings and hot spots.

Strolling and Shopping

Looking for some deals? Take a short walk to the Tanger Outlets, Atlantic City’s outdoor shopping area where you can browse Brooks Brothers, Coach and Michael Kors, along with many discount retailers. If you’re more interested in outdoor pursuits, visit the Bass Pro Shops for everything from hunting and camping gear to outdoor wear.

A nearby treasure is Historic Smithville, where small shops are located in a village made up of historic buildings. You can find everything from funky T-shirts to repurposed vintage glass. More than 50 shops and 10 places to eat await your visit.

Eat AC

If you truly want to make your visit to Atlantic City memorable, try some of the top-flight restaurants that dot the landscape there. Craving a good steak? The Knife and Fork Inn and Morton’s are both options.

The Knife and Fork was originally established in 1912 and proudly admits to having served the infamous Enoch “Nucky” Johnson, a Prohibition-era mobster portrayed in the HBO series Boardwalk Empire.

Morton’s, located in Caesar’s Casino & Hotel, has a little less of a colorful past, but its food is still top-notch, featuring a stunning array of steaks in a modern interior.

If you are looking for a unique dining experience to enjoy a sumptuous Italian meal, here’s a secret: Try Chef Vola’s. Located in a private residence on South Albion Place, Vola’s has long been a hidden gem in the city. The restaurant bills itself as a small, family-style place with very limited seating, so good luck getting a table. “Reservations are a must,” the restaurant’s website reads. “Please understand not all requests are guaranteed.”

Of course, if you choose, you never have to leave the Hard Rock, where high-end dining is only a short walk away from your room. Sitar, featuring modern Indian cuisine, is open from 1:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. Council Oak’s Steak and Seafood will not disappoint those looking for either option, and it features a fine selection of wines. Japanese and Italian experiences are available at Kuro and Il Mulino New York. The hotel also features a number of casual dining establishments, as well as grab-and-go options.

Aaaaahhh…

If you’re just looking to decompress and contemplate the beauty of it all, consider the Atlantic City beaches that are just steps away from where you are staying. Get up early and watch the sun rise. Dig your toes in the sand and enjoy the late summer days while it’s warm enough to still sunbathe. Or take a stroll and enjoy the sounds of the waves while melting away the stress of a hectic profession.

Book Your Room Today!

Booking a room for this year’s Convention will allow you to fully immerse yourself in the Convention and Atlantic City experience, and staying at the Hard Rock is the best way to do it.

Rooms are available at a discounted rate of $129 a night, resort fees included, for Sunday, September 13 through Thursday, September 17. Rooms must be booked by Monday, August 31. Come early, stay late and enjoy all that one of the most iconic resorts in America has to offer.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has released a guide for funeral directors who are handling funeral arrangements for eligible veterans.

The guide, which can be found here, includes checklists for expediting the process of arranging for a veteran’s interment and links to various web pages where more information on establishing eligibility and scheduling services at a VA national cemetery can be found.

The guide details the information needed to process a request for burial benefits for a veteran, including basic biographical data and military service records. It also provides guidance on establishing eligibility preneed.

Funeral directors should download the guide and print it out when needed to assist families and inform them of the steps that must be taken to arrange for interment and apply for veterans benefits.

Further information for funeral directors concerning interment and veterans benefits can be found here.

Students at the University of Michigan hold a mock funeral at the end of a class on death and grief. A cemetery in Venezuela is expanding to handle the number of victims from recent earthquakes in the country. And an article looks at the “birthplace of modern British cremation.” These stories and more are in the week in funeral news.

NEWS

City in Mississippi Moves to Ban Burials on Private Property
By WDAM
The City of Laurel, MS, is moving to ban burials on private property. The city council approved the first reading of an ordinance that would make it illegal to bury human remains on any private, residential or commercial land within city limits. Under the new rules, all burials would have to take place at a licensed cemetery, mausoleum, or crematorium authorized under Mississippi state law. Read more here.

Venezuelan Cemetery Expands Burials for Earthquake Victims, Many of Whom Remain Unidentified
By Osmary Hernández, Rocío Muñoz-Ledo and Avery Schmitz (CNN)
In the mountains of Venezuela’s La Guaira state, workers have excavated new trenches at a cemetery to bury hundreds of people killed in the powerful twin earthquakes nearly two weeks ago, even as many of the bodies being laid to rest remain unidentified. Read more here.

Choosing Her Casket
By Peggy Weeks (Fernandina Observer)
During one particular visit from her niece, Aunt Helen suggested that it was time to "get her affairs in order." Among other things, that meant a trip to the funeral home. Read more here.

How Did a University of Michigan Professor Make Class Come to Life? By Hosting a Funeral
By William Diep (Mlive)
At the end of a life, yes, but at the end of a class? University of Michigan graduate students made an unusual suggestion to close an in-person course in April. They wanted to stage a funeral. And Erin Martinez-Gilliard, their lecturer, thought it was a great way to make learning come to life in her winter semester course “Death, Loss and Grief” in Ann Arbor, MI. Read more here.

A British Town’s Radical Experiment with the Dead
By Simon Furber and Daniel Sexton (BBC)
When Woking Crematorium opened in 1878, it stood alone in a quiet corner of Surrey, England, surrounded by heathland and suspicion. But in recent times, it is recognized as the birthplace of modern British cremation, a place that reshaped national attitudes to death, public health and dignity. The idea was far from universally welcomed by local residents, who even petitioned the home secretary to stop the project, fearing it was unchristian, unsafe or simply disturbing. Read more here.

Stunning Video Shows Body Fall Out of Bottom of Casket at Funeral as Horrified Mourners Scream
By Chris Bradford (New York Post)
It’s a real-life “Coffin Flop”! Wild viral footage shows a corpse falling out of a casket as it’s being carried by pallbearers to its final resting place in Guyana. Read more here.

The International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards is seeking input from funeral directors on the knowledge and skills that funeral service professionals need to practice in today’s environment.

The conference is seeking volunteers to serve on a Job Task Analysis Committee where they will share their expertise in funeral directing, embalming and other tasks as part of a review of current practice. The results will be used to inform future iterations of the National Board Examination.

Those interested in volunteering must:

• Be licensed and in good standing as a funeral director and embalmer
• Have taken and passed both sections of the National Board Exam
• Have knowledge of basic technology
• Bring laptop to all meetings
• Be able to communicate both in person and remotely
• Be available to travel and attend the meeting, in entirety, in-person October 13-15, 2026 in Dallas, TX, and April 20-21, 2027 at a location to be determined
• Commit to exam security and be willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement

Travel expenses to the meeting locations will be covered by the conference.

Those considering applying to become a volunteer should click here.

Anyone with questions should contact Dustin Wardlow at Dustin@theconferenceonline.org.

Much has been written and discussed about funeral homes’ need for a vibrant and informative web presence, but a recent survey indicated the importance of a more traditional aspect of the business: your physical location.

A total of 87 percent of consumer respondents physically visited the funeral home they selected before making their choices, the study found, and 90 percent said that a facility’s cleanliness was important when it came time to decide. The survey was commissioned by Foresight, a funeral home and cemetery consultant service, and Fortitude, a research and marketing firm.

Key Takeaways

• A total of 87 percent toured funeral homes; cleanliness, parking, accessibility and appearance heavily influenced selection decisions
• Consumers understand funeral options far less than professionals believe, highlighting a major education gap.
• Association involvement boosts employee engagement, satisfaction and access to valuable leadership and business training.

That initial visit, however, wasn’t the only trip to a funeral home that consumers were making. The study found that 33 percent physically visited other locations as well. In fact, the average number of locations visited was 3.1, the study said.

“The assumption that once we have a family in the fold, we have them for life is a nice soundbite, but the data doesn’t bear that out,” the survey said.

In addition to how clean a facility was, consumers also paid close attention to appearance and décor, availability of parking and availability of private viewing and visitation rooms. Each of those areas scored more than 80 percent in importance to consumers. In addition, accessibility for senior citizens and the disabled was important for 79 percent of respondents.

The size of the service or chapel area and overall environment, whether modern or traditional, were also deemed important.

Consumers also stressed that the ability to incorporate technology into services was important. Modern audio/visual systems, capable of streaming services and creating slideshows with background music, were important to 57 percent of respondents.

But the study stressed that most often, the bells and whistles of a modern facility take a backseat to what consumers find most important, “basic cleanliness, availability of parking [and] accessibility for older attendees.”

The conclusions were obvious, the study said.

“While consumers are increasingly visiting your website, don’t lose sight of your physical location AND what is important to your customers,” the survey stated.

The study also pointed to another basic need for consumers: education. And this is an area where funeral professionals often fall short, according to the data. While 70 percent of industry professionals said that education was offered, only 32 percent said that education was received, indicating that while funeral directors may be providing information, the actual meaning of that information is not being understood.

The study indicates that funeral professionals should never assume that what they are telling people is actually registering with them. A total of 59 percent of industry respondents believes consumers are aware of the details of funeral service, while only 29 percent of consumers say they are aware.

“Consumers simply do not know very much about their funeral and cemetery options, something our professionals continue to miss,” the study said.

The largest gap in awareness is in online cremation arrangements, where 75 percent of professionals believe that consumers are aware while only 17 percent of consumers say they are. Similarly large gaps exist when it comes to eco-friendly burial options, memorializations with cremation and natural burial.

The study also points to the value of professional associations when it comes to overall workplace engagement. Among those professional companies, 81 percent of those involved in associations report being engaged with their work, while 71 percent of employees are engaged and 50 percent are “completely satisfied with their job.” Respondents who are not involved in associations rated consistently lower in engagement and job satisfaction.

The associations provided added value in areas where respondents said they need more tools and education. Training programs in leadership, employee management and business operations were all considered valuable by respondents.

The New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association continues to supply in-person and on-demand online seminars to address these needs and through the Northeast Funeral Service Partnership, an organization made up of the funeral directors associations in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, has offered training sessions in leadership and management.

A full copy of the Foresight report can be found here.