Official Site of The State of New Jersey

December 2, 2025 

TRENTON – The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) today announced they are recipients of the “2025 SEED Award” by US Digital Response. This award recognizes NJDOL’s efforts in utilizing the state’s artificial intelligence (AI) assistant to improve translations for Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Paid Family and Medical Leave (Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance or TDI/FLI) by simplifying language for English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole speaking residents. The recognition is one of 10 honors given by US Digital Response as part of its “2025 Digital Service Champions Awards.”  

The SEED Award highlights NJDOL as a national leader for developing solutions that grew to help multiple jurisdictions and are easily replicated. NJDOL’s UI and TDI/FLI teams leveraged the NJ AI Assistant, developed by the New Jersey State Office of Innovation, to create plain language glossaries and AI prompts to better meet the needs of all New Jersey workers.   

"We are thrilled to receive the ‘2025 SEED Award’ in recognition of NJDOL’s efforts to harness the power of AI to better serve New Jersey workers in need," said Commissioner of Labor Robert Asaro-Angelo. “Our commitment to improving our translations and use of plain language in paid family and medical leave and in our Unemployment Insurance glossaries helped to increase access for more English, Spanish, and Haitian-Creole speaking residents than ever before. As a result, we saw more UI application submissions in Spanish and higher follow-through rates—improving access to critical benefits for New Jersey workers that can be scaled to help around the country."   

“This much-deserved recognition shows how NJDOL is leading the way to harness generative AI responsibly and make a real difference for people who are unemployed or seeking leave,” said New Jersey State Chief Innovation Officer Dave Cole. “The Office of Innovation looks forward to continuing to partner with NJDOL to deliver crucial benefits and resources more effectively and efficiently than ever before.” 

NJDOL also partnered with community-based partners who provided plain language translation support including Lakewood Resource and Referral Center, Norwescap, the Immigration and American Citizenship Organization, Jefferson Park Ministries, Church World Service Jersey City, Rise, and the Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund.   

The coalition developed UI glossaries and AI prompts with USDR, tested by community members and program staff, to significantly reduce the turnaround time of high-quality translations for customer-facing tools and resources. The improved quality of these translations requires minimal edits from native speakers, and led to improved translations for the UI online application that increased the proportion of Spanish-language applications.  

New Jersey was one of three states in the nation selected by US Digital Response for the “2025 Digital Service Champions Awards,” along with Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Together, these states were recognized for leading outstanding work in digital government modernization.  

NJDOL's use of AI includes initiatives to streamline unemployment claims processing and personalized job matching; improve data analysis; and enhance the customer experience. These efforts are part of a comprehensive plan to innovate how state government works that positioned New Jersey as a national leader in the use of digital technology in public service.   

The SEED Award platform provides NJDOL with national recognition that will continue to drive the state’s innovation journey and promote the cross-state sharing of insights and best practices; fostering new collaborations; and strengthening existing relationships. In addition, this award adds to the chorus of acknowledgements New Jersey has received around its innovative modernizations made to both the UI claimant experience and delivery of UI and paid family and leave benefits.   

For more information about NJDOL's workforce development efforts visit https://www.nj.gov/labor. Learn more about the US Digital Response SEED Award here.  

About the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development  

NJDOL is committed to supporting opportunity, stability, and dignity for all of New Jersey's workforce by providing essential services and support. Through innovative programs, NJDOL seeks to enhance job opportunities and foster economic growth for the state of New Jersey.  

About US Digital Response  

U.S. Digital Response (USDR) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works alongside governments at all levels to ensure they have the capacity to meet the public's needs.