​The New Jersey state administrative agencies are separate from the New Jersey state courts. The state administrative agencies have their own judges and rules to decide cases. Some administrative procedures are different from court procedures.

Examples of cases heard in the state administrative law system are those involving:

• Denial or reduction of unemployment compensation,

• Wage and hour complaints,

• Denial, reduction or termination of welfare (Temporary Aid to Needy Families, TANF, and General Assistance, GA),

• Denial, reduction or termination of Medicaid or Medicare, and

• Denial, reduction or termination of food stamps/SNAP.

New Jersey’s Office of Administrative Law (OAL) holds most of the administrative hearings in the state involving welfare, Medicaid, Medicare and food stamps/SNAP. See Hearings (from the New Jersey Office of Administrative Law) for more information about OAL hearings.

Not all administrative hearings take place at the OAL. For example, some unemployment compensation decisions are made by an appeals tribunal at a local unemployment office, not at the OAL. See Unemployment Insurance (from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development) for more information about appealing decisions concerning unemployment compensation.

Wage and hour complaints are made by the State Division of Wage and Hour Investigation. See Wage & Hour (from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development) for more information about how to file a wage and hour complaint.

If you disagree with a decision made by an OAL judge or administrative agency, you may appeal the decision to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court. However, the party appealing the case must first take advantage of all possible administrative law procedures before going to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court. See Appellate Division (from the New Jersey Judiciary) for more information.​​​​

This information last reviewed: Aug 5, 2024