The Latest Information on Extended Unemployment Benefits in New Jersey

Closing in at nearly 10%, New Jersey's unemployment rate is one of the highest in the nation. Because of this fact, New Jersey qualifies for extended benefits by the federal government. (see addendum at the end of the article.)

If you filed an unemployment claim on or after May 7th 2006, and you are still collecting unemployment benefits after your initial claim runs out (after 26 weeks), you may be eligible for up 33 weeks of extended benefits under the federally funded Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) Tier I and II Extended Benefits. To qualify for these extended benefits, you must:

Be unemployed or only employed part time

Be unemployed during the EUC period which began on July 6, 2008 and will end with EUC claims filed by December 20, 2009.

Have exhausted the benefits on your initial claim

Not be eligible for a new regular unemployment insurance claim

Have 20 base weeks in base year or base earnings of at least 40 times the weekly benefit rate in the UI claim base year

It may sound confusing, but it's not terribly difficult to see if you qualify. Call your nearest unemployment benefits office and ask someone to look up your claim to see if you qualify. The good news is that you do not have to file another claim to get these EUC extended benefits. The State of New Jersey files the claim on your behalf. You will receive a letter in the mail from New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development with instructions on how to continue filing.

As of May 3, 2009, New Jersey qualified for yet another extension on unemployment benefits. The Extended Benefits (EB) will provide an additional 20 weeks of unemployment benefits. These will not kick in until you have exhausted your EUC extended benefits. Check http://www.nj.gov for more information or contact your nearest unemployment benefits office and speak to an agent to see if you qualify. Again, the State of New Jersey will file this claim on your behalf.

If you are collecting or are about to collect unemployment benefits in New Jersey, here are some tips to make the process go more smoothly.

-Have the 10% tax taken out of your unemployment benefit check. President Obama only made the first $2500 in unemployment benefits non-taxable. Print the form out here. No tax can taken out of the $25 weekly checks issued under the Federal Additional Compensation (FAC) Program.

-When you go to the unemployment office, get the names and phone numbers of people who work there. This way if you have any troubles or questions about your claim, you can speak to someone immediately.

-File your unemployment on the assigned day or else you could delay your benefits.

Addendum:

On November 4, 2009, The US Senate voted to approve yet another extension of unemployment benefits. If this bill becomes law, it will provide up to an additional 14 weeks of benefits for out of work Americans in states with unemployment rates over 8.5%.  On November 6, 2009 President Obama signed this bill into law.  Because New Jersey has a higher unemployment rate than many other states, those collecting unemployment in New Jersey will get an additional 6 weeks for a total of 20 extra weeks.  This comes on top of the aleady 79 current unemployment recipients in New Jersey are getting.

Sources:

http://www.freep.com/article/20091104/NEWS06/91104076/1319/U.S.-Senate-OKs-unemployment-extension

http://lwd.dol.state.nj.us/labor/lwdhome/press/2009/approved/060109_EB_maximum_extended.html

http://lwd.dol.state.nj.us/labor/ui/aftrfile/eb.html

http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2009/11/state_says_nj_residents_have_t.html