New Jersey's Unemployment Statutes

General Declaration

The general declaration of Title 43 encourages employers to provide regular accumulation of funds during employment for the benefit of employees during unemployment periods. Unemployment compensation helps maintain purchasing power and limits "the serious

social consequences of poor relief assistance." The state mandates the setting aside of reserve funds for unemployment for the benefit of those finding themselves out of work after legislated qualifying time periods of employment. By statute, in addition to employer contributions to New Jersey unemployment compensation, every worker must contribute 0.385 percent of their wages to the state unemployment compensation fund.

Unemployment benefits depend on the base year for the worker's employment history. By statute, the base year means the initial four of the previous five quarters prior to the worker losing his job. If the person does not have sufficient time to qualify for benefits, he has the option of designating an alternative base year, or the last three complete quarters before job loss. For 2011, the worker must have earned a minimum of $145 per week to qualify for unemployment benefits. For 2011, the maximum weekly unemployment benefit is $598.

Workers whose weekly benefits fall under the maximum may receive additional dependency benefits. Such workers may receive an additional 7 percent weekly for an initial dependent and 4 percent for each of the following two dependents. The maximum dependency amount is 15 percent for a total of three dependents. Only those workers whose spouse or civil union partner is also unemployed may qualify for dependency benefits. Dependents include the spouse or civil union partner or child under age 19, or age 22 if enrolled in school full time. If both spouses or partners are out of work, only one is eligible to claim dependency benefits.

People receiving unemployment compensation should be looking for work, according to law. If an offer is made for a suitable position and the unemployed worker declines it, she could lose benefits for a maximum of four weeks. Suitable work is defined according to employment history, job skills, salary and commutation. People remaining unemployed for extended periods must reevaluate minimum employment requirements. This may include accepting a lower salary, different kind of job or longer commute.