About the program: If your first day of family leave is more than 14 days after your last covered employment day in New Jersey and you do not have a leave approved by your employer, you may be eligible for a family leave during unemployment insurance (FLDU), a combination of family leave and unemployment insurance.
Benefits can be requested for:
- Bonding with a newborn, a newly adopted child or a newly assigned foster child
- Caring for a family member with a physical or mental health condition, including COVID-19 (see the extensive definition of “family” under the law at myleavebenefits.nj.gov/caregiver)
- Dealing with matters related to domestic or sexual violence, whether you or a loved one is a survivor/victim.
Most workers in New Jersey are eligible.
To be eligible you must:
- Have earned at least $14,200 in total or $283 per week for 20 weeks in total in an employment during the 18 months prior to the start of your application; and
- Comply with all the requirements of Unemployment Insurance, except being “available” for possible work due to the need for a bonding or care leave.
Receive up to 60% of your average salary, up to $854/week.
Benefits are paid for full calendar weeks, starting on Sunday and ending on Saturday. If you have an Unemployment or Disability Insurance application during Unemployment within that benefit year, you will normally receive the same percentage of benefit as you received in your previous application.
Receive up to 12 weeks of benefits
Family leave during unemployment benefits can be requested for up to 12 consecutive weeks in a 12-month period or up to eight weeks in a 12-month period if the benefits are claimed intermittently, week by week. Each week claimed must be on a Sunday to Saturday schedule. The 12-month period begins on the first day of the requested family leave and lasts 365 consecutive days thereafter.
Apply for benefits online at myleavebenefits.nj.gov/unemployed
You can start the online application process up to 60 days in advance and save it as a draft. Once your license begins, you must return to your draft (within 14 days of the start of your license) to certify and submit your application. If the application is submitted after the start of your family leave, you will have 30 days from the first day of the same to submit it. Approval of the application and payment of benefits can take between four and six weeks, once we have a complete application.
For more information, visit: Paid Family Leave during Unemployment
Source: Family Leave during Unemployment