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To receive unemployment benefit payments, you must meet all eligibility requirements when filing a claim and when certifying for benefits.
I just quit my job. Will I be eligible for unemployment benefits?
If you quit your job, we will conduct a phone interview with you and your employer after your file your claim to determine if you are eligible for unemployment benefits.
If you quit your job, you must show that there was good cause for leaving, and that you made all reasonable attempts to keep your job (such as requesting a leave of absence or transfer).
Note: Good cause can include unsafe working conditions, a medical doctor’s advice, or protecting yourself or your child from domestic violence.
How does vacation pay or holiday pay affect my eligibility to receive unemployment benefits?
If you were given a definite return-to-work date at the time you were laid off, we may deduct vacation or holiday pay from your benefits.
- If you are not given a definite return-to-work date, any vacation or holiday pay you receive when your job ends is not deducted from your weekly benefit amount.
- If
you are given a definite return-to-work date, any vacation or holiday pay for the period of the temporary layoff is deducted from your benefits. We will allocate your vacation and holiday pay as follows:
- Vacation pay will be allocated to match the number of days you requested vacation, or the number of days your employer required you to use as vacation during the temporary layoff.
- Holiday pay that is paid before you return to work will be allocated to match the holiday weeks. Holiday pay that is paid after you return to work will be allocated to match the week that you return to work.
I’m not a US citizen. Can I collect UI benefits?
To collect UI benefits, you must show that you were in satisfactory immigration status and authorized to work in the United States when earning the wages you used to establish your claim.
You must also give proof that you are currently in satisfactory immigration status, and are authorized to work each week that you claim benefits.
Note: The EDD verifies immigration status and work authorization through the Department of Homeland Security.
If you quit your job without "good cause connected with the work" you may not be eligible to receive benefits. "Good cause connected with the work" means that your reason for leaving must be directly related to your job, and be so compelling that you had no choice but to leave the job. While in most cases you cannot voluntarily quit a job and collect unemployment insurance benefits, where you can show “unsafe, unhealthful, or dangerous” working conditions, that were so intolerable that you had “no choice but to leave the employment,” you could be eligible to collect unemployment insurance benefits. The burden of proof is on you, the employee, to prove that you quit for good cause.
If you leave your job for personal reasons – for example, to move out of the area – your reason for quitting is not connected with the work. If you quit your job for better pay or more hours, you may be eligible for benefits under certain circumstances.
In both cases, a claims examiner will contact you by phone or email for a fact-finding interview to decide if you are entitled to benefits based on Unemployment Insurance law and policies.
However, if leaving your job was related to domestic violence, of if your spouse/civil union partner is an active military member who is being transferred outside of state, you may still be eligible to collect benefits. You will be scheduled for a claims examiner interview or emailed a questionnaire to provide proof of these circumstances. The examiner will decide if you can receive benefits based on Unemployment Insurance laws and regulations.
To remove a disqualification for voluntary leaving, you must return to work (in covered employment) for at least eight weeks, earn at least 10 times your weekly benefit rate, and then become unemployed through no fault of your own.
If you were fired or discharged from your job, you may not be eligible for benefits. A claims examiner will determine if there was any misconduct connected to your separation.
There are two types of misconduct: misconduct and gross misconduct.
A misconduct disqualification would begin the week your firing or suspension occurred, and continue for the next five weeks. After the disqualification period ends, you may be eligible to collect benefits.
If you were fired for any reason that is serious enough to be considered a crime of the first, second, third, or fourth degree under the New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice, you may be disqualified from collecting benefits indefinitely. This is known as a gross misconduct discharge.
To remove a gross misconduct disqualification, you must return to work (in covered employment) for at least eight weeks, earn 10 times your weekly benefit rate, and then become unemployed through no fault of your own. In addition, the wages you earned with the employer who discharged you cannot be used to establish a current or future claim for Unemployment Insurance benefits, or to remove a disqualification.
If you were fired, you will have a fact-finding interview either by phone or email to determine your eligibility. The examiner may request certain documentation as supporting evidence of your separation. The examiner will determine if you are entitled to benefits based on Unemployment Insurance laws and regulations. An exception to a disqualification based on willful misconduct may apply when the separation was related to or due to domestic violence.