New Jersey Act Sets New Reporting Requirements and Penalties for Employers (NJ S2357)

On November 3, 2022, the New Jersey legislature enacted S 2357 concerning the timely payment of unemployment compensation and amending unemployment law with respect to employer reporting, notices, determination of overpayments and recovery of overpaid benefit amounts.

The amendments enacted in this legislation become effective July 31, 2023.  The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development recently posted a notice concerning the establishment of electronic employer accounts under the new law.

Many employers already rely on TPAs to represent them with powers of attorney on file. It has not yet been worked out how the New Jersey law will be coordinated with TPAs and the State Information Data Exchange System (SIDES). The use of SIDES is a requirement of federal grant funding of state automated systems.

Many of the substantive statutory and administrative requirements of the Act have not been finalized in rules or administrative directives. The substantive provisions of the Act require employers to provide to the agency immediately upon the separation of an employee from employment, information sufficient to enable the division to make a benefit determination. As a practical matter, an employer or its representative may not know what the agency is requiring with respect to a separation from employment immediately at the time of separation. Separations may be due to quits, discharges, or lack of work lay-offs on a permanent basis or with a return to work date. In many cases, individuals may become unemployed but may not have been “separated” from employment. The Act adds the failure of an employer or its agent to provide information immediately on separation to the agency as the basis for a prohibition against relief from charges to the employer’s account.

The Act also provides that if an employer appeals charges to its account after the 7-day appeal provision and provides information that results in an overpayment, the charges to the employer’s account will not be relieved.

The short time provided for reporting about separations and responding to requests from the agency makes it extremely important that there be recognition of employer agents (many of which have been previously identified).

UWC is working with employer representatives and the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development to clarify requirements, identify potential rules and/or legislative amendments, and meet the requirements of NASWA SIDES and the US Department of Labor.