Find NJ Unemployment Benefits and Grants
The NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJ DOL) manages the state unemployment insurance program through the Department of Unemployment Insurance (DUI). Unemployment in New Jersey remains higher than the United States as a whole, reflecting how badly the state has been hit by the pandemic compared to other parts of the nation.
NJ Unemployment Benefits
Please see below for more information on the Advanced Pandemic Benefits currently available, including troubleshooting eligibility issues, various payment delays, and changing certification requirements. And according to the NJ DOL website, they are aware of the persistent problems people face when filing claims and receiving payments on time. Read on for more information.
New Jersey NJ DOL 25 Week Renewal Payment Status – Latest News And Status on PUA, PEUC, and $300 FPUC
The NJ DOL has implemented the 25-week NJ Unemployment benefits extension for the PEUC and PUA programs. Anyone currently collecting any amount of NJ Unemployment benefits will also receive the $300 FPUC benefit. However, some issues have been identified which you can also discuss in the comments forum below this article. This contains:
- There were some delays in receiving the $300 weekly payment. In many cases this was due to technical breakdowns and payments were received in the account 1 to 2 days later.
- It’s still hard to reach a live agent. Keep trying as in some cases you will need a live agent to manually process your claim or provide additional information to review your claim.
- Many report fraudulent emails to potential applicants asking for personal and private information. Don’t share this online or with people you don’t know. Go to the NJ DOL site only to download documents and provide the necessary certifications.
- Although the PUA and PEUC extensions are now available through September 4th, many people report a loss of performance, mainly due to the need to provide additional documentation (PUA applicants) or not re-applying after reaching their performance year End (see what happens below).
- Some people who have returned to work and are no longer entitled to NJ unemployment benefits but are now unemployed again find it difficult to reclaim due to manual reviews that the NJ DOL must conduct, which is taking more time than expected . Retrospective payments are made for eligible weeks, but this is a known issue.
NJ Unemployment Benefits Assessments At The End Of The Year
All unemployment benefit claims must be checked by law after one year. Applicants approaching the end of their performance year should not take any further action. If your UI claim has been open for more than a year, here are some things to do:
- DO NOT try to open a new claim.
- Continue to have your weekly unemployment benefits certified according to the schedule.
Your claim will be checked automatically; the NJ DOL will only contact you if further information is required. If you have recently reached the end of your NJ unemployment benefits year, a review of your application has been completed or is ongoing.
Upon completion of the review, you will receive a confirmation that your weekly performance certificate was successful.
Extension Of The 2023 Unemployment Program Under The COVID Aid Act
The $900 billion COVID-19 relief package went into effect on December 27, 2020, expanding and providing additional federal funding for improved $300 NJ unemployment benefits, along with several other pandemic relief efforts.
These include Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), and a reinstatement but halving of the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation Program (FPUC), which provides an additional $300 weekly NJ unemployment benefits. I also posted this video discussing the frustrations surrounding the current $300 payment!
These programs have been funded and extended by 11 weeks (in addition to any government sponsored extensions) covering the weeks from December 27, 2020 to March 14, 2021. In order to receive FPUC benefits, you must regularly UI, PEUC, EB, or PUA.
NJ DOL 2021 11 Week Renewal Payment Details and Updates for $300 FPUC, PUA, And PEUC
Update February 9, 2021: NJDOL has (finally) successfully completed the programming for the 11-week service extension for the over 75,000 expired PUA and PEUC claims. Applicants who have waited and are entitled to these 11 weeks should have been notified by email and can certify during their regular schedule once the extended weeks have been added to their entitlement balance.
If you haven’t received your notification AND are unable to confirm (online or by phone) in the next few days, your claim is likely being held due to additional manual processing / verification or you have been deemed ineligible. Some examples are discussed in the comments below.
Update February 3, 2021: New Jersey unemployed workers who have exhausted their PUA and PEUC benefits on or after December 26, 2020 continue to face lengthy delays while the NJ DOL maintains its antiquated and diverse UI systems Reprogram to add the 11 week extension.
These workers are also missing out on their weekly payment of 300 FPUC and will have to wait for an official notification from NJ DOL to resume their weekly certification. Calling and trying to get this through won’t help even if you can get in touch with someone.
There is no official target date for when NJ DOL will do this, but I expect system updates to be available by mid-February based on previous program rollouts and NJ DOL sources. Thousands are affected and I will keep posting updates on different platforms.
I also discussed more about the 2021 UI extension or the reasons behind the PUA extension delay in this YouTube video.
Missing Week 4 Payment of $300 for Many (with Active Perks): Many readers report that they did not receive their week 4 payment. NJ DOL only confirms on their social media that they made 3 payments – so I suspect the system updates they need to do for the PUA and PEUC programs caused these delays. If no payments are made this week, NJ DOL can make a double payment next week.
Update Jan 29, 2021: NJ DOL has confirmed that they have made the FPUC payment of $300 to eligible applicants for three weeks, with the fourth payment coming next week. However, this only applies to those who can become certified and are currently receiving state or federal benefits.
Those who have received government $300 NJ unemployment benefits such as PUA or PEUC but have exhausted those benefits on or after December 26, 2020 (zero entitlement balance) will see a payment gap while the NJ DOL reprograms their systems to include the approved 11 week Add extension according to the latest COVID relief law.
Loss of Wage Support Program (LWA)
NJ made all final payments under the LWA program, which provided additional payments to unemployed beneficiaries who were or were unavailable to be unemployed, partially unemployed, or unable to work due to disruption caused by COVID-19. Approximately 800,000 workers in New Jersey were eligible for LWA benefits of up to $1,800 (or 6 weeks).
The NJ Labor Department (NJDOL) has confirmed that LWA payments were successfully processed and paid out for payment on October 21st. It may take 1 to 3 working days from this date for payments to actually arrive on your financial account or debit card due to the processing times for all financial intuitions.
Therefore, I assume that payments will appear on accounts and cards from October 22nd through October 26th. This of course applies to the first (main) batch of payments. People who have verified themselves late (after September 30th) or whose account has been flagged (e.g. for further processing or fraud) will be able to see payments a few days or weeks later.
After the article comments, many are still waiting for their LWA payment and I will continue to post new information and answer questions (along with the helpful reading community) as it becomes available.
Why Payments Were Late – Here is the latest quote from Labor Department spokeswoman Angela Delli Santi on the delays: “Processing these [LWA] payments required new programs that were not previously tested and it is taking longer than expected these payments are carried out through.
Individuals who miss their weekly certification window can get certified during any of the catch-up times. Early October 21st New Jersey has “purposely withdrawn” the state’s application for certification of unemployment in order to [fix] and consolidate resources to make the $300 NJ unemployment benefits.
How LWA Payments From The NJ DOL Take Place
The LWA payment file is submitted to Bank of America, NJ’s processing bank, then the BOA distributes the payments to applicants’ direct deposit accounts and debit cards. This entire process can take 1 to 3 working days.
If your payment has not been received by the end of October or is less than expected, you will need to contact an NJ DOL / DUI representative to review your eligibility and eligibility.
The delay in payment has been a source of frustration for many claimants in NJ based on the comments on this post, and this official update will be a relief for many.
The delays were mainly due to the number of eligible applicants and the work on the system / application updates required for this program, which resulted in NJ being one of the last states to make this payment.
More than 800,000 unemployed New Jersey residents are eligible for LWA payments. Payments are made as a lump sum and retroactive to August 1st for a maximum of 6 weeks (or $1,800) of approved FEMA funding.
You will need to complete a one-time certificate / attestation (via your UI portal) that your unemployment was due to COVID-related disruption in order to receive LWA payment.
However, those on Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) or Regular Unemployment (UI) who have previously certified do not need to certify and will automatically receive LWA payments after October 19 as they currently receive $300 NJ unemployment benefits. Please visit the NJ LWA page for more information.
The new LWA payment is available in addition to regular Unemployment Insurance (UI), Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) or Pandemic Emergency Compensation (PEUC) payments for unemployed workers.
- NJ Unemployment Benefits