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Division of Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance

When You're Sick, Injured, or Post-Surgery
Find out how to get benefits when you can't work due to a non-work-related illness or injury.

• Start an application
• Finish an application you started

• Check claim status
• Extend or end a claim
• Update your name or address
• Access claim documents

• For Employers
• For Healthcare Providers

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BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Check out our video tutorial. It'll guide you through the process with detailed step-by-step instructions. Plus you'll get helpful tips for completing your application.

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Step 1: Create an Account

If you don't already have an account for our secure online system, click here and follow the prompts from the "First Time User?" button.

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Step 2: Start an Application

You'll then be directed to the first page of the application. Read it and click the box to confirm you agree with the terms before filling out the rest of the pages.

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Step 3: Print Instruction Forms

After your parts are complete, you'll be prompted to print instructions with a unique Online Form ID number. Give them to your healthcare provider so they can complete their part online.

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Step 4: Await Your Decision

Applications are processed in the order in which they are received. You can stay up-to-date by checking your claim status here.

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Step 5: If Approved, Access Your Funds

If we approve your application, we'll mail you a debit card to access your benefit payments. For more information about how the debit card works, click here.

• Before You Apply
• How to Apply
• After You Apply
• Private Plan Insurance

About the Program

Temporary Disability Insurance provides cash benefits to New Jersey workers who have to stop working due to a physical or mental health condition or other disability unrelated to their work. The healthcare provider certifies how long you need to recover from your medical condition, up to a maximum of 26 weeks. Most employers in New Jersey are required to have Temporary Disability Insurance for their employees.

Employers may choose an insurance plan offered by the state or by a private insurance company. Ask your employer which coverage you have. If you are covered by the state plan, apply for Temporary Disability Insurance benefits online via our secure system. If you are covered by a private insurance company, your employer will tell you how to file a claim. Click here for more information about private plan Temporary Disability Insurance.

Who Qualifies for State Benefits

New Jersey workers are encouraged to apply.
In order to have a valid claim for Temporary Disability Insurance, you need to have paid into the program through your employment and meet minimum gross earnings requirements. Temporary Disability Insurance is available to most New Jersey workers.

• federal government employees
• optional for local government, including school district employees
• out-of-state employees
• faith-based organizations
• workers that are not technically employees (such as properly classified independent contractors).

If your employer is covered for Temporary Disability Insurance, they are required to set up payroll contributions for you. If you believe you are covered under the program but payroll contributions have not been made, you are still encouraged to apply as it may have been an error. If you became unemployed recently and have a need for Temporary Disability Insurance, you still may be eligible for benefits and we encourage you to apply. In that case, we will forward your application to our Disability During Unemployment section.

How Much I Need to Earn to Qualify

Your employer is required to report your wages to the state after each calendar quarter. When your claim is under review, we consider the earnings reported for the 5 completed quarters prior to the week your disability began. The first 4 quarters of that time frame is called the base year.

To qualify for Temporary Disability Insurance in 2023, you must have worked 20 weeks earning at least $260 weekly, or have earned a combined total of $13,000 in the base year.

To qualify for Temporary Disability Insurance in 2024, you must have worked 20 weeks earning at least $283 weekly, or have earned a combined total of $14,200 in the base year.

Your regular base year period consists of 52 weeks and is determined by the date you apply for Temporary Disability Insurance benefits, as outlined in the chart below:

The wages earned during your base year will determine the amount of weekly benefits you may receive, and the total amount you can receive throughout the life of a claim.

For workers who don't qualify with a standard base year, we have other ways of calculating a base year. Click here for more information on these alternate base years.

How the Program Is Funded

Both New Jersey workers and employers contribute to the cost of the temporary disability program. Workers contribute through deductions taken out of their paychecks.

For 2022, workers contribute 0.14% on the first $151,900 (wage cap) in covered wages earned during this calendar year. The maximum worker contribution for 2022 is $212.66. This contribution is in the form of a salary deduction that your employer takes from your weekly wages.

There will be no Temporary Disability worker contribution deductions for the 2023 and 2024 calendar years.

How Benefits Are Calculated

1. First, we calculate your average weekly wage. We do this by dividing your base year earnings by the number of base weeks.

In 2023, a "base week" was any week you earned $260 or more. In 2024, a "base week" is any week you earn $283 or more.

2. Now, we can determine your weekly benefit rate. Claimants are paid 85% of their average weekly wage, up to the maximum weekly benefit rate set for that calendar year.

In 2023, the maximum weekly benefit rate is $1,025 per week.
In 2024, the maximum weekly benefit rate is $1,055 per week.

For example, let’s say Steve's first day of disability is Friday, March 1, 2024. To see how much he would receive weekly on Temporary Disability Insurance, we look at his reported wages for the first four of the last five completed quarters:

Quarter 4

Quarter 3

Quarter 2

Quarter 1

Quarters 1 through 4 are the regular base year and the timeframe used to calculate his benefits.

Total base year earnings: $18,200 which we divide by 45 (the number of base weeks)

This gives us an average weekly wage of $404.

Steve’s weekly benefit rate is 85% of his average weekly wage: $343.

Work-Related Disabilities

If you become disabled due to an injury or illness related to your job, contact the Division of Workers' Compensation. If your disability is work-related and your employer's workers' compensation carrier denies you benefits or stops benefit payments, you may file an application with us.

To be eligible, you must:

1. Meet all the requirements of the Temporary Disability Benefits law, and
2. File a formal claim petition with the Division of Workers' Compensation, and
3. Agree to reimburse the Division of Temporary Disability Insurance if you are awarded Workers' Compensation benefits.

Most individuals consult with an attorney when filing a formal claim petition with the Division of Workers’ Compensation.

How to Apply for Benefits

You can apply for Temporary Disability Insurance benefits online, in the mail, or by fax. Instructions are included on the application. Read all the instructions carefully before completing the application. If filing by mail or fax, don’t forget to sign and date the form.

When you apply for Temporary Disability Insurance benefits, we’ll need information from you, and your medical provider. It is your responsibility to have all this information – including the medical provider part – submitted to us online, by mail, or by fax.

This is the information we need to complete your application:

1. From you:
2. Your Social Security number, contact information, and date of birth
3. The date you became disabled
4. Contact information for the medical provider who treated you within 10 days of the first day you were unable to work
5. Dates of any emergency/urgent care treatment or hospitalizations
6. Dates you worked for any employers in the last 18 months, the employers’ contact information, and the address(es) where you worked
7. Dates of any paid time off or other benefits you received after the last day you worked
8. The date when you expect to recover and return to work (or the date you recovered and returned to work)

• A medical certification to confirm the period you are unable to work. Find printable guidance for your medical provider here.

When you complete your part online, you will get a unique Online Form ID number to give to your medical provider. They will use this number to submit their part to us online. You will be prompted to print out (or save as a PDF file) a page that has your unique Online Form ID number, along with instructions for your medical provider to follow. If you do not have access to a printer when initially filing your application, you have a fourteen day window to return and print the instructions when a printer is available. You can do so by clicking Access claim documents at the top of this page.

If planning ahead, you may start your online application up to 60 days in advance for a planned medical procedure or pregnancy claim. To avoid deletion of your draft application: (1) within 14 days of starting the application, provide all information and confirm your claim; then (2) within 14 days after the start of your leave, certify and file your claim. If applying after your disability period begins, you have 30 days from your first day of disability to file your application.

How to Receive Benefits Quickly

We would like to process your application quickly, but can’t do it without your help.

Keep these tips in mind to avoid delays and receive your benefits faster:

Apply online. It’s faster than printing and mailing or faxing your application to us. It also allows your medical provider to easily complete their section online once they get the required instructions from you. Remember, it is your responsibility to give these instructions to the medical provider to complete – they are not automatically notified by us. If you do apply online, do not also submit your application by mail or fax. That may delay the processing of your application.

Keeping Your Employer Informed

The Temporary Disability Benefits Law does not specify how far in advance you must notify your employer for medical leave, as many disabilities are unforeseeable circumstances. However, we encourage you to keep your employer informed whether your leave for medical reasons is scheduled in advance or not. Having an open discussion with your employer about your need for medical leave will allow them to prepare for your absence and make adjustments to work schedules, if necessary. Your employer may also be able to provide insight on job protection and if you qualify for it through the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

Extending Your Claim

After you start receiving Temporary Disability Insurance benefits, we may ask you to provide us with proof of your continuing disability to keep receiving benefits.

Instructions on how to submit this information online will be mailed to you in a letter called the Request to Claimant For Continued Claim Information, or P-30, before your last authorized benefit payment.

At the top of this page, click the button that says “Extend or End a Claim,” and log in to your account. Just like when you filed initially, you will be prompted to print a page that has your unique Online Form ID number and instructions for your medical provider to file the continuing medical certification online.

Once we receive this information, we will review the request to extend your claim.

If you are unable to log into your account to get the unique Online Form ID for your medical provider, call us at 609-292-7060.

What Forms You’ll Receive

Here is a list of the important mail you’ll receive from us, in the order it’s typically sent:

C-05 - Confirmation of Claim Receipt: This form lets you know we received your application. Don’t discard it! You’ll need it if you have to update any of your information (name, address, earlier return to work date, etc.).

You also may receive one or more of the following if your application contains missing or conflicting information:

C-10 - Request to Claimant for Information: You’ll receive this form if your application has missing or conflicting information.

For more information about specific forms or notices, see our Form Look Up page.

How You’ll Get Your Money

Benefit payments are issued on a debit card sent to you directly by Money Network/My Banking Direct. You will receive this card in the mail in a plain, unmarked envelope once your application is approved. Don’t lose it!

Payments are usually issued every two weeks after the initial payment, with a one-week lag for processing time. Once a payment is posted, funds should be available on your debit card within three business days of the payment date. Each day of benefits paid to you is one-seventh (1/7) of your weekly benefit rate. Payment may be more or less than a one-week period.

Social Security (FICA) and Medicare deductions are automatically withheld from your benefits. However, no federal income tax is withheld from your benefits unless you request a specific amount to be withheld weekly when you apply.

Benefits are paid until you recover and return to work, exhaust your maximum benefit entitlement, or receive benefits for 182 days.

Understanding Maximum Benefit Amounts

The most you can be paid for each period of disability is one-third (1/3) of the total wages you earned in New Jersey covered employment during the base year, or 26 times the weekly benefit amount, whichever is less.

How Temporary Disability Benefits Are Taxed

Temporary Disability Insurance benefits are considered taxable income for purposes of both the federal income tax and FICA (Social Security). Federal income tax will not be withheld from your benefit payment each week unless you request it when you file, or submit IRS form W-4S to us (for state plan claims) or your employer (for private plan claims). Your share of FICA and Medicare is automatically deducted from state plan benefit payments. Garnishments and any refunds owed from a previous disability or family leave claim will also be withheld from your benefit payments. Temporary Disability Insurance benefits are not taxed by the State of New Jersey.

The amount of your benefits that is taxable will be reported to your employer in January of the year following the receipt of your benefits. It is your employer's responsibility to include that information on your W-2 annual earnings statement, often listed as "third party sick pay" or "other wages." Keep in mind, benefits are federally taxable during the year that payments are issued, which may not always match up with when your leave occurred. For example, if you file an application for a period of disability in December 2023 but payments are not issued until January 2024, they will not be included on your W-2 for 2023.

Is Your W-2 Missing Temporary Disability Tax Information?
If your Temporary Disability benefits are not reported on your W-2 (often listed as "third party sick pay" or "other wages"), contact your employer directly to have it corrected. The New Jersey Department of Labor does not issue W-2s to Temporary Disability Insurance recipients. If needed, let your employer know they can download their year-end tax statement here. For additional information on incorrect W-2s, go to: Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

How to File an Appeal

If you disagree with our decision, you may submit an appeal. Click here for more information about the appeals process.