Hurt at work in New Jersey: workers' comp benefits and deadlines

How New Jersey workers' comp works

Workers' compensation in New Jersey is a no-fault insurance program. If you are hurt in the course of your job, or develop an illness caused by work, you can receive benefits regardless of who was at fault. You do not have to prove your employer was careless, and your own mistake generally does not disqualify you.

The trade-off is that workers' comp is usually your only remedy against your employer. You generally cannot sue your employer for pain and suffering. The narrow exception is an intentional wrong, which courts read strictly: the employer must have known injury was substantially certain to happen. You may still be able to sue a third party, like an equipment maker or a property owner, whose negligence contributed to your injury.

Reporting your injury

Tell your employer as soon as possible. According to the Division of Workers' Compensation, notice can go to a foreman, supervisor, the personnel office or anyone in authority, and it does not have to be in writing, though a written record helps.

Ask your employer for medical treatment promptly. In New Jersey, your employer or its insurance carrier generally chooses the treating doctors. The carrier files a First Report of Injury and decides whether to accept the claim. If your employer refuses to report the accident, you can contact the insurance carrier directly or file with the Division.

What benefits you can get

There are several types of benefits, and you may receive more than one over the life of a claim.

• Medical: necessary and reasonable treatment, prescriptions and hospital care, paid by the carrier
• Temporary disability: 70% of your average weekly wage while you are unable to work and under authorized care, within that year's minimum and maximum
• Permanent partial disability: based on lasting loss of function to a body part or the body as a whole
• Permanent total disability: when a work injury prevents any gainful work
• Death benefits: weekly benefits for dependents plus up to $3,500 for funeral expenses

Temporary disability: the numbers

To qualify for temporary disability, you must be unable to work for more than seven days. The days do not have to be in a row. Once you pass seven days, benefits are paid back to the first day.

The weekly benefit is 70% of your average weekly wage, but it cannot go above the state maximum or below the state minimum for the year you were hurt. For 2026 injuries, the maximum is $1,199 and the minimum is $320. For 2025 injuries, the figures were $1,159 and $309.

Benefits generally stop when you are cleared to return to some form of work or reach maximum medical improvement. If your employer does not have light duty for you and you are still under authorized care, benefits generally continue. Workers' comp benefits are not subject to New Jersey gross income tax.

When a claim is denied or disputed

If the carrier denies your claim, stops your benefits or refuses treatment, you can file either an application for an informal hearing or a formal claim petition with the Division of Workers' Compensation. Cases are heard by judges of compensation in district offices, generally based on the county where you live.

Watch the deadline. A formal claim petition generally must be filed within two years of the injury or the last payment of compensation, whichever is later. Authorized medical treatment paid by the employer counts as a payment. For occupational illnesses, the clock generally starts when you knew about the condition and its connection to work. Filing for an informal hearing does not stop the two-year clock.

If you urgently need treatment or temporary benefits that are being refused, there is a motion process, and those motions are scheduled before a judge within 30 days of proper filing.

Lawyer fees and retaliation

Workers' comp lawyers in New Jersey are paid only if benefits are awarded, and the fee must be approved by the judge of compensation before payment. A 2024 law (P.L.2024, c.55) raised the cap from 20% to 25% of the award for claims pending on or after August 22, 2024. Some state materials still show the older 20% figure.

It is illegal for an employer to fire or discriminate against you for filing a workers' comp claim or testifying in a hearing (N.J.S.A. 34:15-39.1). You can file a discrimination complaint with the Division.