New Jersey TDI: Eligibility, Payments, and Filing a Claim

New Jersey Temporary Disability Insurance replaces part of your paycheck when a non-work-related illness, injury, or pregnancy keeps you from doing your job. For claims starting in 2026, the program pays 85% of your average weekly wage up to $1,119 per week, for as long as your doctor certifies you cannot work, up to a maximum of 26 weeks.¹ Nearly every private-sector worker in the state is covered, and you fund the program through a small payroll deduction on your own wages.

Who Qualifies

You qualify if you earned enough during your base year, which is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before your disability started. For 2026 claims, you need either 20 base weeks with at least $310 in earnings each, or combined base-year earnings of at least $15,500.² These figures move with the state’s minimum wage.³

Your condition has to be non-occupational. Anything caused by your job goes through workers’ compensation instead. TDI picks up everything else: a scheduled surgery, a broken leg from a weekend fall, a mental health crisis, pregnancy complications, or recovery from a serious illness. You also need to be under the care of a licensed medical provider, and you need to have seen that provider within ten days of the first day you were unable to work.⁴

How Much You Get Paid

Your weekly benefit is 85% of your average weekly wage during your base year, up to the 2026 cap of $1,119.⁴¹ So if your average weekly wage was $900, you’d receive $765 a week. If you earned $1,500 a week, you’d still be capped at $1,119.

Benefits run for as long as your doctor certifies you need to recover, up to 26 weeks. That’s the ceiling, not a guarantee. If your doctor clears you to return to work after eight weeks, benefits stop at eight weeks.

The Waiting Week

No benefits are paid for the first seven consecutive days of your disability. Payments begin on the eighth day. If your disability continues for three or more consecutive weeks, the state goes back and pays you for that first week as well.⁵ Any paid time off your employer provides during the waiting week does not count against your TDI benefit duration.

How to File a Claim

You have 30 days from the start of your disability to file.⁴ Missing that window can delay or jeopardize your benefits, so file as soon as you stop working. The fastest way is the MyLeaveBenefits portal at myleavebenefits.nj.gov, though you can also print an application and submit it by mail or fax.⁶

Your part of the application asks for:

Your Social Security number, date of birth, and contact information
The date you became disabled and when you expect to return to work
Names, addresses, and dates of employment for every employer you worked for in the past 18 months
Contact information for the medical provider who treated you within 10 days of when you became unable to work
Dates of any emergency or urgent care visits or hospitalizations
Information about any paid time off or other benefits you received after your last day of work

Your doctor completes the second part, the medical certification. When you finish your section online, you’ll receive a unique Online Form ID to give your provider so they can submit their portion electronically. There is no employer section; the Division pulls your wage history from the quarterly reports your employer already files.⁷

The medical certification is where most claims get stuck. Call your doctor’s office the same day you file and let them know the form is coming. If the provider’s part sits in an inbox for two weeks, your claim sits with it. Processing generally takes a few weeks once the Division has everything. Approved benefits arrive through direct deposit or on a state-issued debit card.

Pregnancy and the Handoff to Family Leave

Pregnancy is one of the most common reasons people file for TDI. You apply after your doctor certifies that you are medically unable to work.⁸ There is no set number of weeks before your due date that benefits automatically begin; it depends entirely on when your provider determines you cannot work. TDI then continues through your postpartum recovery period.

Once your doctor clears you from the medical disability, you can move into New Jersey’s Family Leave Insurance (FLI) program for bonding time with your newborn. If you received TDI for your pregnancy, the state sends you an FL2 notice that lets you file a transitional bonding claim with no gap between the two benefit periods.⁹ If your pregnancy disability was covered by a private plan, or you didn’t receive disability benefits at all, you file a new FLI application separately.

If Your Employer Uses a Private Plan

Not every employer uses the state-run TDI plan. Employers can instead provide coverage through a private insurance carrier, a self-insured arrangement, or a union welfare fund. Every private plan must be approved by the Division and must offer benefits at least as generous as the state plan on payment amounts, eligibility rules, and benefit duration. Some private plans offer more than the state minimum.⁴

If your employer has a private plan, you file through that plan, not through MyLeaveBenefits. Your employer is required to notify you of your TDI coverage at hire, when you request information, or when you tell them you need leave.² If you aren’t sure which plan applies to you, ask HR before you need to file.

TDI Does Not Protect Your Job

This one catches people off guard. TDI is a wage-replacement program only. Receiving benefits does not require your employer to hold your position open while you recover. Job protection comes from separate laws: the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the New Jersey Family Leave Act, both of which require covered employers to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave.¹⁰

You might qualify for TDI but not FMLA (if your employer is too small or you haven’t been there long enough), or the other way around. When you qualify for both, TDI provides the paycheck and FMLA provides the job protection. You apply for FMLA directly through your employer, not through the state. If your employer has 50 or more employees and you’ve worked there for at least 12 months, submit FMLA paperwork at the same time you file your TDI claim.

Taxes on Your Benefits

TDI benefits are partially taxable at the federal level and completely exempt from New Jersey state income tax.² The federal treatment depends on how the program was funded. The portion of your benefits attributable to employer contributions is taxable; the portion attributable to your own payroll deductions is not. Because both sides contribute, only a fraction of your check counts as federal taxable income.

One quirk: if you received only TDI (not Family Leave Insurance or Disability During Unemployment), you will not receive a 1099-G form from the state.¹¹ You are still responsible for reporting the taxable portion on your federal return, so keep your payment records.

If Your Claim Is Denied

You have 21 calendar days from the date the determination was mailed to file an appeal. If the 21st day falls on a weekend or legal holiday, the deadline extends to the next business day.¹² This deadline is strict. Miss it, and the denial stands.

You can file online through the state’s appeal portal. Once your appeal is accepted and assigned a docket number, you can submit supporting documentation and evidence to the Appeal Tribunal.¹³ Print your confirmation page as proof of filing.

Common reasons for denial include filing more than 30 days after the disability began, insufficient base-year earnings, and an incomplete medical certification. Before appealing, check whether the problem was simply a missing piece of your application. If your doctor never submitted the medical certification, getting that filed may resolve the issue faster than a formal appeal. For questions about the process, contact the Appeal Tribunal at appealtribunal@dol.nj.gov.

1
NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development. NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development Announces New Benefit Rates for 2026
2
Division of Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance. Information for Employers
3
Justia Law. New Jersey Revised Statutes 43:21-27
4
Division of Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance. When You’re Sick, Injured, or Post-Surgery
5
Division of Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance. FAQ: Temporary Disability Insurance
6
New Jersey Division of Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance. Division of Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance
7
State of New Jersey. Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance
8
My Leave Benefits. Maternity Coverage
9
My Leave Benefits. Ready to Start Your Bonding Leave?
10
Division of Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance. FAQ: Family Leave Insurance
11
Division of Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance. Do You Need to Download a 1099-G?
12
Division of Unemployment Insurance. Your Right to Appeal
13
My Unemployment NJ. Apply for an Appeal