Hurt at work in New Jersey? Deadlines, weekly benefit and how to file
Tell your employer within 14 days (the date of the injury). File your claim within 2 years.
Temporary total disability benefits can pay 70% of your gross (before-tax) wages, up to $1,199 a week in 2026.
Your employer's insurer, not the state, usually decides first. If they deny or delay, the free help listed here can explain your options.
In New Jersey, temporary disability benefits replace part of your wages while you cannot work and are under active medical care for a work injury. Your employer's insurance carrier (or a self-insured employer) decides the claim, and disputes go to a judge of compensation at the Division of Workers' Compensation.
Checked against official sources: October 31, 2026.
Deadlines are strict. If you are near one, call the state agency or free help today.
Free tools for New Jersey
Free tools that run in your browser. Nothing you enter is saved or sent until you download, copy or print a document.
Deadline helper
Benefit estimate calculator
This estimate uses the rule in New Jersey's data: a share of your average weekly wage, up to the state maximum.
Written notice to your employer
A letter that tells your employer, in writing, that you were hurt or made sick by your work.
Claim checklist: what to gather and do
A printable list of papers to keep and steps to take.
Deadlines in New Jersey
- Tell your employer
- 14 days
- File your claim
- 2 years
- Waiting period
Temporary disability benefits are not paid until you have been unable to work for 7 days.
Weekly benefit in New Jersey
- What it pays
- 70% of your gross (before-tax) wages
- Maximum
- $1,199 a week in 2026
- Minimum
- $320 a week in 2026
- Minimum rule
The minimum is 20% of the statewide average weekly wage, $320 a week for 2026 injuries. A worker whose 70% rate would be lower receives the $320 minimum.
- Applies to
- Injuries in calendar year 2026 (for occupational disease, the date of exposure or manifestation)
Law: N.J.S.A. 34:15-12(a), 34:15-37
Source: nj.gov
Who is your doctor in New Jersey?
- Who chooses
- Your employer or its insurer chooses
Your employer or its insurance carrier has the right to choose the doctors who treat your work injury. You can choose your own doctor only in an emergency (tell your employer as soon as possible) or if the employer improperly refuses to provide treatment.
There is no automatic right to change doctors. If the employer or carrier refuses or neglects to provide reasonable and necessary treatment, you can file a Motion for Medical and/or Temporary Disability Benefits with the Division; it is heard by a judge within 30 days.
Law: N.J.S.A. 34:15-15; N.J.A.C. 12:235-3.2
Source: nj.gov
Who is covered in New Jersey
- Size of employer
All New Jersey employers not covered by federal programs must have workers' compensation insurance or be approved to self-insure, as soon as one or more people work for them for pay. Out-of-state employers may need coverage if the job contract was made in New Jersey or the work is done in New Jersey.
- Special rules
- Public employers: Government agencies must provide workers' compensation benefits but do not have to buy insurance; they may use a policy, an insurance pool or their own appropriation.
- Domestic (household) workers: Household employees must be covered, usually through the residential employment part of the homeowner's insurance policy.
- Not covered
- Partners and LLC members of their own partnership or LLC, and the principal owner of a sole proprietorship
- Federal employees, longshore and harbor workers, railroad workers and seamen are covered by federal programs, sometimes in addition to state law
- If your employer has no insurance
If your employer had no insurance, file a formal Claim Petition with the Division. If no insurance is found, the Uninsured Employers Fund is brought into the case. If a judge orders the employer to pay and it does not, the fund can pay the temporary disability benefits and reasonable medical expenses in the judge's order (not permanent disability).
Law: N.J.S.A. 34:15-36, 34:15-71, 34:15-79, 34:15-120.1 et seq
Source: nj.gov
If your claim is denied or delayed in New Jersey
- First step
If the carrier denies your claim or stops benefits, you can file an Application for an Informal Hearing (a quick, non-binding hearing before a judge) or a formal Employee Claim Petition with the Division.
Fired or punished for filing in New Jersey
Your employer may not fire you or discriminate against you because you claimed or tried to claim workers' compensation benefits, or because you testified or are about to testify in a workers' compensation case.
- The law
- N.J.S.A. 34:15-39.1
- What you may get
Reinstatement to your job and pay for wages lost because of the discrimination, if you can still perform the duties of the job. The employer can also be fined.
- Where to file
Either file a discrimination complaint with the Division of Workers' Compensation (investigated by the Office of Special Compensation Funds), or file a civil complaint in the Superior Court, Law Division.
Source: Form SCF-4
- Deadline
A discrimination complaint with the Division must be filed within 180 days of the last act of discrimination.
Law: N.J.S.A. 34:15-39.1; N.J.A.C. 12:235-8.1 to 8.4
Source: nj.gov
Lawyers' fees and other benefits in New Jersey
Attorneys cannot charge a fee in advance and do not charge for an initial consultation. Fees are set by a judge of compensation only if benefits are awarded, are deducted from the award, and cannot exceed 20% of the award.
Besides medical care and temporary disability, New Jersey pays permanent partial disability (scheduled and non-scheduled losses), permanent total disability (450 weeks, longer if you still cannot earn wages), death benefits to dependents at 70% of the worker's wage, and up to $3,500 for funeral expenses. The Second Injury Fund pays some totally disabled workers with a pre-existing disability.
Free help in New Jersey
State agency
New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Division of Workers' Compensation
- Phone
- 609-292-2515
- Address
- P.O. Box 381, Trenton, NJ 08625-0381
Free help
Good to know in New Jersey
- If a minor was employed in violation of child labor laws, temporary, permanent and death benefits are double.
- If your claim is contested, New Jersey Temporary Disability Insurance may pay while your formal claim petition is pending, with a lien on any later workers' compensation award.
- Notice of injury given to your immediate supervisor counts as notice to the employer.
Changes in 2024–2026
The maximum weekly temporary disability rate rose to $1,199 and the minimum to $320 for 2026 injuries (from $1,159 and $309 in 2025, and $1,131 and $302 in 2024).
Questions about workers' comp in New Jersey
How long do I have to tell my employer about a work injury in New Jersey?
Tell your employer as soon as possible. You can tell your foreman, supervisor, personnel office or anyone in authority where you work, and the notice does not have to be in writing.
How long do I have to file a workers' comp claim in New Jersey?
If there is a dispute, you must file a formal claim petition with the Division of Workers' Compensation within 2 years of the date of injury or the date of the last payment of compensation, whichever is later.
How much does workers' comp pay in New Jersey?
Temporary total disability benefits can pay 70% of your gross (before-tax) wages, up to $1,199 a week in 2026.
Can I choose my own doctor for a work injury in New Jersey?
Your employer or its insurance carrier has the right to choose the doctors who treat your work injury. You can choose your own doctor only in an emergency (tell your employer as soon as possible) or if the employer improperly refuses to provide treatment.
Can my employer fire me for filing a workers' comp claim in New Jersey?
Your employer may not fire you or discriminate against you because you claimed or tried to claim workers' compensation benefits, or because you testified or are about to testify in a workers' compensation case.
What if my workers' comp claim is denied in New Jersey?
If the carrier denies your claim or stops benefits, you can file an Application for an Informal Hearing (a quick, non-binding hearing before a judge) or a formal Employee Claim Petition with the Division.
Not about a work injury?
Not about a work injury? Unpaid wages → Wage Claim Map · Hurt in a car crash → Accident Claim Map · A medical bill → Medical Bill Map · Unemployment benefits → Unemployment Claim Map · Other problems → robinclaim.com
Nearby states
Sources
- NJ DWC: Injured Worker Protections
- NJ DWC: Frequently Asked Questions for Workers
- NJ DWC: Navigating Disputes
- NJ DWC: Rates and Statistics
- NJ DWC: Employer Requirements
- NJ DWC: Contact Us
- New Jersey Workers' Compensation Law, N.J.S.A. 34:15 (Division copy, saved Dec. 15, 2025)
- Rules of the Division of Workers' Compensation, N.J.A.C. 12:235
- Employee Claim Petition (WC-365)
- Discrimination complaint form (SCF-4)