How many months do you need to work to qualify for unemployment in nj

New Jersey’s unemployment compensation law sets the requirements that must be met to obtain unemployment compensation in the state.

Non Monetary Eligibility

• You must have lost job through no fault of your own.
• Be available for work
• Be actively seeking work
• You must quit your job for good cause
• Your must not be fired for misconduct

Monetary Eligibility

To be monetarily eligible for unemployment benefits,

• You must have worked at least 20 base weeks in covered employment
• Must have earned $8,500 in your base year
• You must earn a minimum dollar figure ($169) for each week worked during a 52 week period called a base year
  

There are alternate plans that may come into effect if you did not meet this 20-week requirement. The unemployment department will consider the previous 18 months and make a determination about eligibility.

There are alternate plans that may come into effect if you did not meet this 20-week requirement. The unemployment department will consider the previous 18 months and make a determination about eligibility

Eligibility Questions

Can I receive unemployment if I am fired?

Benefits in New Jersey are not obtainable to people who were fired for misconduct or performance related issues. People who were fired for reasons mot related to their performance, however are eligible for benefits. So, for example, if an individual was fired because the company for which he worked chose to cut back and restructure, then he is possibly eligible. However, if he was fired for carelessness, he is not qualified.

Can I Get Unemployment If I Quit My Job?

You might be able to receive unemployment if you quit a job in New Jersey, but it depends in documentation and circumstances. New Jersey considers the reason why you are out of work and the basic law is that is must be for a cause that is not your fault. If you leave willingly, it’s not easy to qualify.

New Jersey does recognize a few special cases, such as

• Domestic violence
• Leaving job to join a military spouse assigned to a new location
• Quitting job for  “good cause”

The ruling also says New Jersey law clearly intends to keep out claimants who leave a job for personal reasons.

Can I obtain unemployment benefits if I am laid-off?

Usually, in New Jersey you have to lose your job through no fault of your own in order to collect unemployment. When you get laid-off, it is not your fault.

In almost all cases, this means that if you get laid-off, you are eligible should apply immediately to apply for unemployment benefits.

Getting laid-off doesn’t mean that you were fired or you did something wrong. Getting laid-off means that the company that you worked for did not have enough work for you to do, and could no longer pay for your job.

Unemployment benefits are a lifeline for those who lose their jobs through no fault of their own. During the pandemic, the procedures in many states were simplified to facilitate getting aid to affected individuals, with loosened eligibility and supplemented benefits.

The federal program ended in 2021, so New Jersey, like all other states, returned to its pre-pandemic eligibility requirements, though with an updated system.

Anyone considering applying for unemployment benefit payments in New Jersey will want to get an overview of the eligibility requirements. Eligibility is more difficult to determine than it might seem at first blush.

Eligibility for New Jersey Unemployment

Unemployment is a type of insurance, and the general rule is that only those enrolled in an unemployment insurance program are eligible to receive benefits. The program is financed by employers and is mandatory for those with qualifying employees. The payroll taxes paid by employers to which employees contribute finance the unemployment program.

In New Jersey, as in all states, the benefits available to employees are intended to partially replace wages when workers become unemployed. But not every New Jersey worker is eligible for UI benefits. Workers must have a significant work history to participate in the unemployment program. Employees who have worked only a short time may not be eligible.

Employee Base Year for UI Benefits Program

In New Jersey, an employee is required to have worked a certain number of weeks earning a minimum amount before being eligible to collect employment. These qualifying wages must be earned during a “base period,” the time frame used by New Jersey to determine who qualifies for unemployment benefits. The base period is a 12-month period, but it varies depending on when the claim is filed.

The regular base-year period consists of the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters (three-month periods) before the week in which the employee files their initial claim. The regular base-year period is 52 weeks. The day the base period starts depends on the date the worker applies for benefits.

Base Year Periods for a New Claim

An unemployment claim filed in the first quarter of a calendar year will have a base-year period running through September 30 of the prior year. For example, a claim filed in January, 2022, will use a base-year period of October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021 for unemployment insurance benefits.

Other base-year periods are:

• Claim filed in the second quarter of the calendar year will use the prior calendar year as the base-year period.
  
• Claim filed in the third quarter of the calendar year will have a base-year period running from April 1 of the prior year to March 31 of the current year.
  
• Claim filed in the fourth quarter of a calendar year will have a base-year period running from July 1 of the prior year to June 30 of the current year.

Earnings Required During Base Year

How much does a New Jerseyan need to earn during the base year to qualify for UI benefits in New Jersey? And how long does the employee need to have worked? The amount must be at least 20 times the current minimum wage and can change from year to year. For example:

• In 2021, the worker must have earned at least $220 per week during 20 or more weeks in covered employment during the base-year period. Alternatively, they must have earned at least $11,000 in total covered employment during the base-year period.

• In 2022, the worker must have earned at least $240 per week during 20 or more weeks in covered employment during the base-year period. Alternatively, they must have earned at least $12,000 in total covered employment during the base-year period.
  

Note that the amount of wages earned during a base year determine the weekly unemployment benefit amount the worker will receive, as well as the total weekly benefit rate they are eligible to claim in a year.

Alternative Base Period in New Jersey

An employee who does not qualify for UI benefits in New Jersey under this base-year requirement may be able to qualify under an alternate base period with stricter wage requirements.

When an unemployed worker's earnings during the regular base-year period do not meet the required minimum, the Department reviews the employee's earnings in two alternate base-year periods. These are the last four calendar quarters before the claim was filed or the three most recently completed calendar quarters preceding the date of the UI claim, plus the weeks and wages in the filing quarter up to the employee's final day of work.

Note that this second alternate base year contain fewer than 52 weeks. The worker would still need to have worked at least 20 base weeks earning the required amount per week (for 2022, the weekly earnings must be at least $240), or earned the set minimum period (for 2022, at least $12,000) during the alternative base year.

New Jersey "Covered Wages"

Not every dollar a worker earns counts as part of their base period earnings. The wage requirements described above for both the regular and alternate base periods must be from "covered wages." This means wages paid by employment protected by the New Jersey unemployment laws where the employer is required to pay into the unemployment fund.

This includes most employment, but not self-employment, independent contractor work or commission-only work. Money earned from these types of work don’t count toward monetary eligibility for UI, and generally, claimants cannot rely on money earned from these types of work for eligibility.

Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation

The federal government supplemented state unemployment compensation programs during the coronavirus pandemic. Because the pandemic caused high unemployment rates, the federal government increased the benefit amounts, offered extended unemployment benefits, and allowed claimants to qualify for unemployment benefits even if they were self-employed or contractors.

These programs were available in New Jersey, as in most states. That is, there was increased eligibility and increased benefit amounts. But these pandemic-related programs ended in 2021, and there is no current talk of additional federal supplements for state UI coverage.

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