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A

Alternate Base Year
If you didn't earn enough during the regular base year to qualify for Temporary Disability or Family Leave benefits, the Division may check two other one-year timeframes to see if you had enough earnings to qualify.

Appeal
If you or your employer disagree with any part of a claim decision, you can ask that it be reviewed again and explain why you disagree. 

Application
An application is a written request (submitted by mail, fax, or online) to be considered for benefits.

Approval
An approval is when an application meets all the requirements and is determined to be eligible for benefits.

Average weekly wage
The average weekly wage is your typical weekly income and is used to calculate the weekly disability or family leave benefit payments you may receive. It is generally your total base year earnings divided by the number of base weeks worked.

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B

Base week
A base week is any Sunday through Saturday during your base year, when you earned enough money to qualify for Temporary Disability or Family Leave benefits. 

• For claims starting in 2025, a base week is a week where you earned at least $303. 
• For claims starting in 2026, a base week is a week where you earned at least $310. 

Base year

Your base year is the time period we look at to see if you have earned enough money to qualify for benefits. You need to meet the earnings requirements and other criteria to be eligible.

We also use the base year to calculate your average weekly wage. The base year usually includes your earnings from the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before the start of your claim.

For example:

If you don't meet the earnings requirements during that time, we can consider alternate periods.

Benefits
Benefits are payments from a government agency (or private insurance company) that replace a portion of your wages when you can't work. 

Benefit year
Your Family Leave benefit year is the 12-month period that starts on the first day you use leave approved by us. You have until the end of those 12 months to claim your maximum benefit amount in Family Leave Insurance.

Temporary Disability does not have a benefit year and there’s no limit to the number of claims you can file each year.

Bonding benefits
You may qualify for benefits during time off work to nurture your newborn, newly adopted, or newly placed foster child through New Jersey's Family Leave Insurance. This type of leave is called bonding.  

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C

Caregiving benefits
Caregiving benefits are issued during time off work to care for a loved one’s physical or emotional needs during their health condition. This is called caregiving leave. Loved ones include:

• Parents or in-laws
• Children of any age
• Spouse or domestic partner
• Grandparents
• Grandchildren
• Siblings
• Chosen family
• Anyone related by blood or whom you consider family

Certify
Certifying means to confirm that the information in your claim is accurate and complete. By certifying, you’re also saying you understand your benefit rights and responsibilities.

Chargeable employer
For temporary disability claims, your chargeable employer is the NJ employer you last worked for, or who last paid you, before your disability.

Family Leave benefits are funded only by NJ workers, so there is no chargeable employer.

Child
A qualifying child includes your:

• Biological or adopted child
• Foster child
• Stepchild
• Legal ward
• Domestic or civil union partner’s child

Claim
A claim is your application for Temporary Disability or Family Leave Insurance benefits.

Claimant
A claimant is anyone who applies for NJ Temporary Disability or Family Leave Insurance benefits.

Claims Examiner
A Claims Examiner is an employee who processes applications for Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance. 

Continuous leave
Continuous leave means taking Family Leave Insurance (FLI) all at once, without breaks. You can take up to 12 weeks (84 days) of continuous leave in a 12-month period.

Covered employment
Covered employment means work that qualifies you for Temporary Disability or Family Leave benefits. Most employment in NJ is covered.

Jobs that may not count as covered employment include:

• Independent contract work (like freelancing or gig work)
• Work for certain religious organizations

Temporary Disability is optional for local governments, for example counties, municipalities, and school districts.

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D

Debit card
Once your claim is approved, your benefit payments will be loaded onto a debit card linked to your benefits account. You can use the card to make purchases or withdraw cash with a PIN.

It stays valid for 6 months after the funds are used and you may need the same card for other state benefit programs.

Denial
A denial means your claim didn’t meet the requirements, so you’re not eligible for benefits.

Disability
A disability is a mental or physical health condition, including pregnancy and childbirth recovery, that prevents you from working. To qualify for Temporary Disability benefits, an approved medical provider must certify your condition.

Donated leave
Donated leave is when an employee gives their own paid leave days to another employee who has a personal or family medical emergency but no paid leave days of their own left.

Duration of benefits
For Family Leave Insurance (FLI), you can get benefits for up to 12 weeks (84 days) in a row or up to 56 days spread out over a 12-month period.

For Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI), you can get up to 26 weeks (182 days) per disability period, or until you reach your maximum benefit, whichever comes first.

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E

Eligible
You’re eligible when you’ve met all the requirements to qualify and are approved for benefits.

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F

Family member
parents
spouse
children of any age
parents-in-law
siblings
grandparents
grandchildren
domestic partners
chosen family
any other individual related by blood or that you consider to be family

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G

Gross misconduct
Gross misconduct is a more severe form of misconduct. It is committing an act that is punishable as a crime of the first, second, third or fourth degree under the New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice. (N.J.S.A. 2C:1-1)

If you're fired for gross misconduct, you can’t use wages from that job to qualify for Family Leave or Temporary Disability benefits.

Gross wages
Gross wages are the total amount of money you earn before any taxes or deductions This includes your regular pay, overtime, bonuses, and other earnings.

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H

High misdemeanor
High misdemeanor refers to crimes of the first, second, or third degree. These are serious offenses that can impact your eligibility for benefits.

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I

Ineligible
Ineligible means your application for benefits was denied because it didn’t meet the program requirements.

Intermittent leave
You can take Family Leave Insurance (FLI) in parts, like in separate days or weeks instead of all at once. You have up to eight weeks (56 individual days) to use within the course of a year.

Invalid
An invalid claim happens if you didn't earn enough money through New Jersey covered employment during the regular or alternate base years and you are denied benefits.

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L

Last day of work
Your last day of work is the last day you did your job before your leave started. It’s not the day you got your final paycheck or the day your employment officially ended.

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M

Maternity benefits
If you’re pregnant and working, you may qualify for benefits before and after childbirth through New Jersey’s Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance programs.

You can get Temporary Disability benefits for up to 4 weeks before your due date and 6 to 8 weeks after giving birth, if your medical provider approves it.

After your baby is born, you can get Family Leave Insurance benefits to spend time bonding with your child.

Maximum benefit amount
This is the most money you can get from a single claim based on your earnings.

For temporary disability claims, you’ll get the lower of: 

• 26 times your weekly benefit amount, or
• One-third of the total wages you earned in New Jersey during your base year.

For family leave claims, you’ll get 12 times your weekly benefit amount.

Medical provider (approved)
This refers to a licensed medical professional that verifies your need for time off work on your claim.  For disability/pregnancy claims, they determine your health condition prevents you from working. For caregiving claims, your loved one’s medical provider determines they need your care.

Approved medical professionals include:

• licensed chiropractor
• dentist
• osteopath
• podiatrist
• medical doctor
• optometrist
• psychologist
• advanced practice nurse
• advanced practice registered nurse
• certified nurse practitioner
• clinical nurse specialist
• certified nurse midwife (under the supervision of a licensed physician)
• physician assistants and midwives are also acceptable when under the supervision of a licensed physician
• social workers (LCSW) are approved for Family Leave Insurance, but not for Temporary Disability Insurance

Misclassification
This happens when an employer improperly classifies you as an independent contractor, sometimes called a 1099 employee. They may also pay “cash off the books."

This may illegally deprive you of legal protections, such as overtime pay, access to leave, and other benefits.

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N

Net wages
Net wages are the amount of money you take home after taxes and other deductions, like Social Security or health insurance.

Non compos mentis
Non compos mentis means a person is not of sound mind and can’t make decisions for themselves due to a mental health condition or disability.

In this case, someone else can apply for benefits and act on their behalf.

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O

Overpayment
An overpayment happens when you receive more benefits than you're entitled to. Regardless of the reason, you're required to pay back the excess amount.

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P

Paid time off
Paid time off (PTO) is leave from work that’s paid by your employer such as for vacation, personal time, sick time, etc.

Private plan
A private plan is an independent insurance plan that an employer may provide instead of NJ Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance from the NJ Department of Labor.   Employers can choose to provide these benefits through a private insurance carrier, self-insurance, or a union welfare fund.

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R

Recovery
Recovery means you are medically able to return to work after a period of disability.

Re-established claim
This happens when you file another Family Leave Insurance (FLI) claim within the same 12-month period as your first claim.

This can be for the same reason as your initial claim (like continuing to bond with your child) or a different one (like caring for another family member).

Refund
A refund means you pay money back to the Division of Temporary Disability & Family Leave Insurance if you were overpaid.

Relapse
A relapse happens when your disability comes back within 14 days after you recovered or returned to work. In that case, it may count as a continuation of your original claim, not a new one.

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S

Severance pay
Severance pay is money paid by your employer when you are let go from work. It is often based on how long you worked there.

State plan
The state plan is New Jersey’s Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance programs, managed by the NJ Department of Labor. If you’re covered under the state plan, your employer must set up payroll contributions for you, and the state handles your claim. Some employers offer a private plan instead.

Subrogation agreement
A subrogation agreement is a contract where you agree to pay back the Division of Temporary Disability Insurance if you later get Workers’ Compensation for the same injury or illness. You may need to sign this agreement if there’s a chance you’ll receive both benefits.

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T

Transitional bonding
Transitional bonding is when you start bonding benefits right after you finish receiving Temporary Disability benefits for childbirth.

Trusted representative
A trusted representative is someone you let us speak with about your claim. This could be a family member, friend, or caseworker. If you give permission, they can call to ask questions and get information about your claim.

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U

Underpayment
An underpayment happens when you receive less money than you're owed in Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance benefits.

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W

Wage cap
Workers contribute to Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance through payroll deductions. You keep contributing each year until you hit a limit, called the wage cap.

Waiting week
The waiting week is the first 7 days of your Temporary Disability claim. You won't get paid for this week unless your leave lasts 22 days or more. Once it does, you’ll get a payment for that first week.

There is no waiting week for Family Leave Insurance.

Weekly benefit rate
Your weekly benefit rate is how much you’ll get paid each week during your claim. 

• For claims starting in 2025, it’s 85% of your average weekly wage, up to $1,081.
• For claims starting in 2026, it’s 85% of your average weekly wage, up to $1,119.

The exact amount depends on how much you earned during your base year.

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