How Does NJ Temporary Disability Insurance Work?

New Jersey Temporary Disability Insurance replaces part of your paycheck when a non-work illness, injury, surgery, or pregnancy keeps you from doing your job. For claims that start in 2026, the program pays two-thirds of your average weekly wage up to a maximum of $1,119 per week, for as long as 26 weeks per period of disability.¹ It is funded by payroll contributions from both employees and employers, and it is one of the few state-mandated short-term disability programs in the country.²

Who Qualifies

You have to clear two tests: an earnings test and a medical test.

The earnings test looks at your “base year,” which is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before your claim begins. Inside that window, you need at least 20 weeks of work earning $310 or more, or a combined total of at least $15,500 across the whole base year.³

The medical test is straightforward. Your condition must be unrelated to your job and must actually prevent you from working, and you must be under the continuous care of a licensed provider such as a physician, dentist, chiropractor, or certified nurse midwife who can certify that you cannot perform your regular duties.² If the illness or injury came from your job, that is workers’ compensation territory, not TDI.

If you become unable to work after already losing your job, you may still qualify under a separate track called Disability During Unemployment. You must have become disabled more than 14 days after your last day of covered New Jersey employment and meet its own earnings thresholds.

How Much You’ll Get Each Week

Your weekly benefit is two-thirds of your average weekly wage during the base year, rounded down to the nearest dollar. That figure is capped at 53 percent of the statewide average weekly wage.⁴ For 2026, that ceiling works out to $1,119 per week.¹

Two quick examples. If your average weekly wage was $1,200, your benefit is $800 (two-thirds). If your average weekly wage was $2,000, two-thirds would be roughly $1,333, but you’d receive the $1,119 cap. The state recalculates the maximum every year based on changes in the statewide average weekly wage.

How Long Benefits Last

You can collect for up to 26 weeks per period of disability.⁵ Every claim starts with a seven-day unpaid waiting period. If your disability continues long enough that you’re paid for three consecutive weeks after that waiting period, the state goes back and pays for those first seven days too.⁶

Payments arrive on a prepaid debit card, usually within a few business days of each payment date.⁷ If you were already receiving unemployment by direct deposit, those payments may continue to your bank account under the Disability During Unemployment track.

State Plan or Private Plan

Most workers are covered under the default State Plan, but employers are allowed to substitute an approved Private Plan through a private insurance carrier. Any Private Plan has to match or exceed the State Plan on benefit amounts, eligibility, and duration, and it must be approved by the Division before an employer can use it.⁸

This distinction matters because it changes where you file. Check your pay stub for a deduction labeled “DI” or ask your HR department. If your employer uses a Private Plan, file directly with that carrier. Sending a Private Plan claim to the state by mistake can add four to five weeks while the state routes it to the correct carrier.²

How to File a Claim

What to Gather First

Before you start the application, pull together:

Your Social Security number, address, and phone number.
Names, addresses, phone numbers, and dates for every employer you’ve worked for in the past 18 months.
Your last day worked and the date your disability began.
Medical certification from your provider on Part B of the DS-1 form, including diagnosis, estimated recovery date, and license number.

You can download the DS-1 from the state’s application page.⁹ It is on you to get the medical section completed by your provider and the employer section completed by your employer before you submit.

Submitting the Application

You can file online, by mail, or by fax. The online portal at myleavebenefits.nj.gov is the fastest and the only option that gives you a receipt confirmation.⁹ For paper filing, send the completed DS-1 (Parts A, A1, B, and C together) to:

Division of Temporary Disability Insurance
PO Box 387
Trenton, NJ 08625-0387
Fax: (609) 984-4138

File within 30 days of the date your disability started. A late filing doesn’t automatically disqualify you, but without good cause, your benefits will be limited to the period beginning 30 days before the state received your claim.¹⁰

After You Apply

Applications are reviewed in the order received, and how long that takes depends on claim volume. A complete application with no missing information moves faster than one that requires follow-up. When a decision is made, you’ll receive a Notice of Eligible Determination. Approved claimants can check status and payment details online, and the first payment usually reaches the debit card within a few days.¹¹

If Your Claim Is Denied

You have 21 calendar days from the mailing date of the denial to appeal.¹² You can appeal online or send a signed written statement with your name, Social Security number, and address to the same PO Box or fax number used for filing. If you miss the deadline, file anyway and explain why; an appeals examiner will decide whether to accept the late appeal. The process leads to a hearing where an examiner reviews the facts and rules on your claim.

TDI Does Not Protect Your Job

This is the biggest point of confusion, so it’s worth stating plainly. TDI replaces wages. It does not, by itself, guarantee that your job will be waiting for you when you return.¹³ Your employer is barred from retaliating against you for seeking or using TDI, and you can take legal action if they do, but job protection itself comes from other laws:

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) offers up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for a serious health condition, if you work for a covered employer and meet the eligibility rules.¹⁴
The New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA) provides up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave in a 24-month period to bond with a new child or care for a family member. It does not cover your own medical condition.¹³

The Americans with Disabilities Act may also require your employer to grant additional unpaid leave as a reasonable accommodation, even after FMLA runs out, provided the extension doesn’t cause undue hardship.¹⁵ When more than one law applies, you get whichever protection is greater.

Federal Taxes

The IRS treats payments from a state disability fund as taxable income for federal purposes, so TDI benefits go on your federal return.¹⁶ Federal tax isn’t automatically withheld from your payments. If you want it withheld, submit IRS Form W-4S to the payer. Otherwise, consider quarterly estimated payments using Form 1040-ES so you don’t get surprised at filing time.

How the Program Is Funded

Both workers and employers pay in. For 2026, employees contribute 0.19 percent of the first $171,100 in covered wages, capping the annual worker contribution at $325.09. Employer rates run from 0.10 percent to 0.75 percent on the first $44,800 each employee earns in the year.³ These rates and wage bases are reset each year based on the statewide average weekly wage.¹

If You Also Get Social Security Disability

Your combined NJ TDI and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) payments cannot exceed 80 percent of your average earnings before you became disabled. If they do, the Social Security Administration reduces your SSDI by the excess. That reduction continues until you reach full retirement age or your TDI ends, whichever comes first. You are required to report any change in your TDI payments to SSA, because those changes can affect your SSDI amount.¹⁷

Fraud and Overpayments

Knowingly making a false statement or hiding a material fact to collect benefits you aren’t entitled to can trigger a fine of 25 percent of the fraudulently obtained amount.¹⁸ If the state finds you were overpaid, even by accident, you’ll usually be required to repay the excess. Overpayments tied to fraud can also bring additional penalties and disqualification from future benefits. Report any change in your medical condition or work status right away to keep an overpayment from building up.

1
NJ.gov. New Benefit Rates for 2026
2
Division of Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance. When You’re Sick, Injured, or Post-Surgery
3
Division of Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance. Information for Employers
4
NJ.gov. New Jersey Temporary Disability Benefits Law
5
Division of Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance. When Limitations Affect Your Disability Benefits
6
Justia. New Jersey Code 43-21-39 – Limitation of Benefits
7
Division of Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance. How You’ll Get Your Money
8
NJ.gov. New Jersey Private Plan Claims Manual
9
Division of Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance. Print an Application
10
Cornell Law Institute. NJAC 12-17-17.1 – Notice and Proof of Disability
11
Division of Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance. What Happens After I Apply
12
Division of Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance. Appealing a Decision
13
Division of Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance. Job Protection Information
14
U.S. Department of Labor. Employment Laws – Medical and Disability-Related Leave
15
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Employer-Provided Leave and the Americans with Disabilities Act
16
Internal Revenue Service. Life Insurance and Disability Insurance Proceeds
17
Social Security Administration. How Workers’ Compensation and Other Disability Payments May Affect Your Benefits
18
Justia. New Jersey Code 43-21-16 – Unemployment Compensation Offenses and Penalties