Division of Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance

Need to bond with a new family addition or care for a loved one but haven't recently been working and/or are collecting Unemployment?

You may be eligible for Family Leave During Unemployment (FLDU) benefits, a hybrid of Family Leave and Unemployment Insurances.

If your first day of family leave is more than 14 days after your last day of covered New Jersey employment and you are not on an approved leave of absence from your employer, your family leave claim is processed under the Family Leave During Unemployment program. Claims filed under this program are governed by both the Unemployment Compensation and Temporary Disability Benefits Laws. Benefits may be claimed to:

Bond with a newborn, newly adopted or newly placed foster child
Care for a loved one with a serious health condition
Handle matters related to a domestic/sexual violence offense that you or a loved one is a victim of

New Jersey workers and previously employed workers are encouraged to apply.
In order to have a valid claim for Family Leave During Unemployment, you need to have paid into the Family Leave program through your work history and are now separated from employment. You must also meet minimum gross earnings requirements during your prior work history. Claims filed under this program are governed by both the Unemployment Compensation and Temporary Disability Benefits Laws.

To qualify for benefits under this program, you must meet all the requirements of the Unemployment Compensation Law with the exception of being available for work.

Applying for Family Leave Benefits Immediately After Receiving Unemployment or Disability During Unemployment Insurance?

All of the Department of Labor benefit programs have the same minimum earnings requirement. Therefore, if you are applying for Family Leave During Unemployment benefits immediately after being approved for Unemployment or Disability During Unemployment Insurance, you have already met the required earnings to receive benefits.

Not Collecting Unemployment or Disability During Unemployment Benefits?

Employers are required to report their employees' wages to the state after each calendar quarter is completed. When your claim is under review, we consider the earnings reported for the 5 completed quarters prior to the week your family leave began. The first 4 quarters of that time frame is called the base year. To qualify in 2020, you must have worked 20 weeks earning at least $200 weekly, or have earned a combined total of $10,000 in those four quarters (the base year).

Your regular base year period consists of 52 weeks and is determined by the date you apply for Family Leave During Unemployment benefits, as outlined in the chart below:

If your claim is dated in:	Your claim is based on earnings from:
January 2020 February 2020 March 2020	October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019
April 2020 May 2020 June 2020	January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019
July 2020 August 2020 September 2020	April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020
October 2020 November 2020 December 2020	July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020

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

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.

Applying for Family Leave Benefits Immediately After Receiving Unemployment or Disability During Unemployment Insurance?

When you were approved for your Unemployment Insurance or Disability During Unemployment Insurance claim, a 365 day period, known as the benefit year, was established. If you are now applying for Family Leave benefits within that benefit year, your Family Leave claim will have the same start date as your prior approved claim.

Not Collecting Unemployment or Disability During Unemployment Benefits?

If you do not have an approved Unemployment Insurance or Disability During Unemployment claim that can be used, the date of claim will be the Sunday of the week in which you claim your first day of Family Leave During Unemployment benefits. The 12-month period starts on the first day of benefits claimed and lasts for the following 365 consecutive days.

Applying for FLDU benefits immediately after collecting Unemployment Insurance?

If you have an Unemployment Insurance or Disability During Unemployment claim and are now applying for FLDU benefits within that benefit year, you typically will receive the same benefit rate for FLDU as you were receiving on your Unemployment Insurance or Disability During Unemployment Insurance claim. Refer back to the monetary determination notice that you were issued for your prior approved claim, as you will not receive a new one for your Family Leave benefits.

Not Collecting Unemployment or Disability During Unemployment Benefits?

Your weekly benefit amount is 60% of your average weekly wage, up to a maximum of $713 per week. Benefits are paid for full calendar weeks, beginning Sunday and ending Saturday. After we begin to review your application, you will be mailed a notice explaining your weekly benefit amount and your maximum benefit entitlement. This notice will list all New Jersey covered employers that you worked for during the base year and the wages they reported for you. You should review the monetary determination carefully as soon as you receive it. If you disagree with the benefit amount indicated, or if any employer information is incorrect or incomplete, you should file a written appeal and include documentation to substantiate what needs to be changed. The monetary determination explains how to file an appeal, or you can click here to learn about the appeal process.

Dependency Allowance

If you have not already qualified for the maximum weekly benefit rate if/when your claim is approved, you may be entitled to additional benefits as a dependency allowance. Dependency benefits are payable at 7% of your basic weekly benefit rate for your first dependent and then at 4% for each of the next two dependents (you may claim no more than three dependents). You will be sent instructions on how to qualify and apply for dependency benefits after you file your claim.

A dependent may be:

an unemployed spouse or civil union partner;
unemployed, unmarried children (including stepchild, and/or legally adopted child) under the age of 19;
unemployed, unmarried children (including stepchild, and/or legally adopted child) under the age of 22 if attending a public or other nonprofit educational institution full time.

*If your spouse or civil union partner is unemployed and claimed your children as dependents on their Unemployment claim, you cannot claim the same children as dependents on your Family Leave claim.

Applying for FLDU benefits immediately after receiving Unemployment Insurance or Disability During Unemployment Insurance?

When transitioning from one program to another, the maximum amount of benefits you can collect total (during Unemployment, Disability During Unemployment, and Family Leave During Unemployment benefits combined) is one and one-half times the maximum benefit amount of your initial Unemployment Insurance or Disability During Unemployment claim. Be aware that the maximum benefit amount applies to standard Unemployment benefits only and is not impacted by pandemic related benefit extensions that may be in place at the time of your filing.

Not Collecting Unemployment or Disability During Unemployment Insurance benefits?

Family Leave During Unemployment benefits can be claimed for up to 12 consecutive weeks in a 12-month period, or up to eight weeks in a 12-month period if claiming benefits on a week-by-week intermittent basis. The 12-month period starts on the first day of Family Leave claimed and lasts for 365 consecutive days after.

Family Leave During Unemployment benefits do not need to be claimed all at once. You can claim your benefits in one consecutive 12-week period, or claim benefits a week at a time to suit your needs. However, the manner in which you choose to claim your leave will determine the duration of leave to which you are entitled.

Continuous Leave: You may receive up to 12 weeks of Family Leave During Unemployment benefits in a 12-month period, if the benefits are claimed for one continuous period of unpaid leave.

Non-Continuous (intermittent) Leave: If you are claiming benefits on a week by week basis, you may receive up to 8 weeks of Family Leave During Unemployment benefits in a 12-month period. Each week claimed must be on a Sunday through Saturday schedule. You cannot claim benefits for partial weeks. If you take your leave in a non-continuous manner, let us know those dates after taking each week long segment.

The family leave program is financed 100% by worker payroll deductions. Employers do not contribute to the program.

For 2020, workers contribute 0.16% on the first $134,900 (the wage cap) in covered wages earned during this calendar year. The maximum worker contribution for 2020 is $215.84. This contribution is in the form of a salary deduction that your employer takes from your weekly wages. On January 1 of each year, the wage cap and the contribution rate changes.

If you overpay Family Leave Insurance constributions in a calendar year, you can not take credit for the overpayment on the NJ1040. You may request a refund by downloading a refund application. For additional information, write to the Division of Employer Accounts, Worker Refund Unit, PO Box 910, Trenton NJ 08625-0910 or call them at 609-633-6400

You can apply for Family Leave Insurance benefits online, in the mail, or by fax. Instructions for filing your claim are included in 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. If planning ahead, you can start the online application process up to 60 days' in advance and it will be saved as a draft. Once your family leave begins, you must return to your draft (within 14 days' of the start of your leave) to certify and submit your application. If applying after your leave begins, you have 30 days' from your first day of leave to file your application. When you complete your part online, you will get a confirmation page showing your part is complete. If any information is missing or conflicting, you will be prompted to print out (or save as a PDF file) the applicable forms to complete and return to the division. If you do not have access to a printer when initially filing your application, you have a 14 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.

What We Need From You:

This is the information we need from you to complete your application:

Your Social Security number, contact information, and date of birth
The date your family leave begins
Dates you worked for any employers in the last 6 months, the employers’ contact information, and the address(es) where you worked
Dates of any paid time off or other benefits you received after the last day you worked

Your former employer(s) does not have to verify your wages when applying. All claims in Income Security (Temporary Disability, Family Leave, Unemployment, Family Leave During Unemployment, Disability During Unemployment) use the quarterly wages reported to the state by your former employers. However, since Family Leave During Unemployment follows the Unemployment law, we will need to verify the reason for separation from your last employer. For example, were you fired, laid off, on a leave of absence or voluntarily quit your prior position? If you were collecting Unemployment or Disability During Unemployment previously, your separation has already been investigated allowing your Family Leave application to be processed without any employer involvement. If you were not approved for Unemployment or Disability During Unemployment previously but still fit the criteria for the FLDU program, your last employer will need to be contacted to verify the reason for separation before benefits can be paid.

Applying for Family Leave immediately after receiving benefits for a pregnancy-related disability?

Family leave for bonding immediately following a pregnancy-related disability has a one-page application that requires less information. Once you and your physician notify us of your actual delivery date, we will mail you an application for New Mother Bonding (Form FL2). You may file for Family Leave During Unemployment benefits once you recover from your pregnancy-related disability.

We would like to process your claim 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. If you are filing for family caregiving, it also allows your family member's 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 our system. If you do apply online, don’t also submit that claim by mail or fax. That may delay the processing of your application.
Fill out your application completely and accurately. Read all instructions first. If you’re not sure how to answer a question, check out our FAQ or Form Look Up for more information. If you still need help, contact us.
Include your Social Security number on all correspondence.
Don’t fax us pictures of documents. If you want to submit a digital copy of a document, use a free mobile app like Adobe Scan or Dropbox to transform a mobile phone picture into a high-contrast, black-and-white PDF file you can print and fax.
Get ready to receive your payments. Bank of America will mail your CashPay debit card in a plain envelope (which might even look like junk mail), so check all your mail carefully. If you already have a debit card from a previous Temporary Disability, Family Leave, or Unemployment Insurance claim, we will use that same card to pay benefits for new claims. If you can’t find your card, contact Bank of America for a replacement.

Once we receive your application and see that you fit the criteria for Family Leave During Unemployment, we may temporarily deny your application as a way of routing it to the proper FLDU section. Rest assured, this temporary denial is simply our internal process of reassigning your claim and has no reflection on the content of your application. Once a Family Leave During Unemployment examiner receives your application, it will be reviewed for claim approval.

Applying for FLDU benefits immediately after receiving Unemployment Insurance or Disability During Unemployment Insurance?

In general, when an Unemployment Insurance or Disability During Unemployment claim exists, Family Leave applications with complete information are determined within seven to ten days from the date of receipt in this office. The time between when you stop certifying for weekly Unemployment or Disability During Unemployment benefits and when FLDU starts paying you will cause a temporary disruption in benefits as it will take time for your new application to make its way to FLDU. This time period will be paid retroactively by Family Leave During Unemployment.

Not Collecting Unemployment or Disability During Unemployment Benefits?

When an Unemployment or Disability During Unemployment claim does not exist, additional information must be gathered and it may take approximately three to four weeks to issue a determination.

A Notification of Information Change form will be mailed to you. This form should be completed and returned to our office if your information needs to be updated (if you need to change your address, your family leave ends, you report to the unemployment office as available for work, or you return to work). Remember: If you have received a debit card and you need to change your address, you must also notify Bank of America of your new address. The bank can be contacted through their website at www.bankofamerica.com/cashpay or by telephone toll free at 1-866-213-4074.

Packet: (If You Are Not Collecting Unemployment or Disability During Unemployment Benefits)

If your first day of family leave does not fall within the benefit year of an existing Unemployment or Disability During Unemployment claim, we may need to ask you additional questions that are required by the Unemployment law. This may include why you stopped working, if you own a business, if you work for a school or are going to school full time just to name a few. We also provide the dependency application and a form to complete if you want 10% of your benefits withheld for federal income tax. The sooner you complete and return this packet the sooner your claim can be reviewed.

Applying for FLDU benefits immediately after receiving Unemployment Insurance or Disability During Unemployment Insurance?

If you have an existing Unemployment or Disability During Unemployment claim where you have selected the option of direct deposit into your personal checking or savings account, and have received payment from them within 28 days of the start of your family leave claim, your direct deposit information wil carry over to your family leave claim.

Not Collecting Unemployment or Disability During Unemployment Benefits?

Benefit payments are most commonly issued to debit cards sent to you by the Bank of America. Bank of America will mail your CashPay debit card in a plain envelope (which might even look like junk mail), so check all your mail carefully. If you already have a debit card from a prior claim (within the last four years), we will use that same card to pay benefits for new claims. If you can’t find your card, contact Bank of America for a replacement. Family Leave Insurance does not offer direct deposit. However, you can arrange for your benefits to be automatically transferred from your debit card account to your personal checking or savings account by contacting Bank of America.

Once your claim has been determined eligible, payments are usually issued on a weekly basis. However, there are times during your claim where your payment may cover a period of more than one week.
Family Leave During Unemployment benefits are paid in full weeks only. A full week runs from Sunday through Saturday.
No federal income tax is withheld from your benefits unless you request this deduction when applying online or by mail.
You may receive benefits until you return to work, exhaust your maximum benefit entitlement, or the benefit year of your claim expires.

Continued Payments

If you did not initially claim your maximum benefit entitlement, you may claim additional benefits by completing a Claim for Continued benefits which will be mailed to you.

Family Leave During Unemployment benefits are NOT payable for:

any period of bonding or caregiving that is less than a 7 day period
any period that you receive unemployment insurance benefits, temporary disability insurance benefits, any benefits from a disability or cash sickness program or similar law of New Jersey or any other state or the federal government.
any period when you receive full salary or paid time off.
any period during which you perform any work for remuneration or profit.
any period during which you would be disqualified under the Unemployment Compensation Law for voluntarily quitting your job, termination due to misconduct or gross misconduct, refusal of suitable work, or fraud.
any period of family leave to care for a family member who is not under the care or supervision of a health care provider
a school employee during any period between academic years or terms or during a school-wide recess, when you have reasonable assurance of returning to work in the same or similar capacity when school resumes.
any period you are out of work due to a labor dispute at your place of work.

Family Leave During Unemployment benefits under are not taxable for New Jersey state income tax purposes. However, benefits are subject to federal income tax. You may voluntarily request to have 10% of your weekly benefits withheld. If you are interested in having federal income tax withheld from your weekly benefits, contact Family Leave During Unemployment in writing at:

Family Leave During Unemployment
P.O. Box 956
Trenton, NJ 08625-0956

After the end of each calendar year, Form 1099-G will be available in our online system for you to download and use when filing your federal income tax return. This form lists the total New Jersey State Family Leave During Unemployment benefits received that calendar year. This information is also sent to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

If you disagree with any written determination you receive from the Division of Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance, you may file an appeal. Each determination contains a written statement concerning your appeal rights. All appeals must be in writing. An appeal sent by fax or email is also acceptable.

Your appeal must be received or postmarked within seven days after delivery or ten days after the date of the mailing of the determination except, an appeal from a Demand for Refund. Any appeal from a Demand for Refund must be received or postmarked within 20 calendar days after delivery of the notice or 24 days after the mailing date of the notice.

When an appeal is filed, you will be notified by mail of the date and time of an appeals hearing. Be sure to be available at the phone whose number you provided on your claim. If you will not be available during your scheduled hearing, you must notify the appeals office as soon as possible so your hearing can be rescheduled.

Your telephone interview with an Appeal Tribunal examiner will not cost you anything. It is not necessary to have an attorney present during the hearing, but you can be represented by an attorney or any other person you choose. You will be notified of the results of the hearing by mail.

If your claim is for family leave caregiving, your loved one may be required to have a physical examination completed by a state-appointed physician. The examination is a routine procedure of this agency to insure that family leave insurance benefits are being paid properly and do not affect the relationship between you and your family member's health care provider.

There is no charge to you or your family member for this examination and the results of the examination will be kept confidential. Your family member will be referred to a doctor located as close as possible to their home.

Important: Your family leave benefits may be terminated if your family member is scheduled for an examination and does not report.

If the benefit year on your Family Leave claim has not expired, the Unemployment office will use the same start date when setting up your Unemployment claim. An Unemployment agent will notify FLDU that you are applying for Unemployment Insurance benefits and will move your claim to the jurisdiction of the Unemployment Insurance office. You may receive the same weekly benefit rate for Unemployment Insurance as you received during your Family Leave During Unemployment claim. Your maximum benefit amount (the total you may be eligible for with FLDU and Unemployment combined) will be dependent on the amount of benefits claimed thus far. Remember, the total amount payable between all three programs (Unemployment, Disability During Unemployment, and Family Leave During Unemployment) cannot exceed 1.5 times the maximum benefit amount of your initial approved claim.

The best way to transition from Unemployment Insurance to FLDU is to stop claiming weekly Unemployment benefits. You do not need to notify the Division of Unemployment Insurance that you are no longer collecting benefits from them, simply stop certifying weekly. Once you stop certifying for Unemployment, complete an application for Family Leave Insurance and submit it. Once we receive your application and see that you fit the criteria for Family Leave During Unemployment we will temporarily deny your application as a way of routing it to the proper section of FLDU. While your application is being routed to the proper section, you may notice your online claim status says "Ineligible." No need to worry, as the status will update once your application is approved. The time between when you stop certifying for weekly Unemployment benefits and when FLDU starts paying you will cause a temporary disruption in benefits as it will take time for your new application to make its way to FLDU. Rest assured that this time period will be paid retroactively by Family Leave During Unemployment benefits.

Keep in mind, Family Leave During Unemployment is a hybrid of the Unemployent and Family Leave programs, and the answer to this question follows that logic. People receiving FLDU benefits are eligible for the expanded duration of benefits (up to 12 weeks of continuous leave) but not for the expanded benefit rate percentage (85% up to $881 per week). FLDU pays claims at the Unemployment rate of 60% of your wages up to $713 per week, NOT at the expanded Family Leave benefit rate. However, you may receive the longer benefit duration of up to 12 weeks of continuous leave, provided you have not already received 39 weeks of Unemployment or Disability During Unemployment Insurance.

Maximum Benefit Duration: When transitioning from one program to another, the maximum amount of benefits you can collect total (during Unemployment Insurance or Disability During Unemployment, and Family Leave During Unemployment benefits combined) is one and one-half times the maximum benefit amount of your initial Unemployment Insurance or Disability During Unemployment claim (up to a maximum of 39 weeks of benefits). The maximum set at 39 weeks of benefits applies to the standard Unemployment benefit and does not factor in Pandemic related extensions (PUA) etc.

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