On July 31, 2023, multiple amendments to the New Jersey Unemployment Compensation Law took effect that impact New Jersey employers handling unemployment claims by separated employees. The law imposes new reporting requirements on employers to both the separated employee and the New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development (NJDOL), and additional administrative burdens for employers.
Employers are required to provide all separated employees with Form BC-10, which contains instructions for employees to obtain unemployment insurance benefits. Employers must provide company identification information and “immediately and simultaneously” send (electronically) the NJDOL a copy of the Form BC-10 given to the separated employee which identifies the date upon which unemployment will begin. Prior to this law, employers were not required to submit the form to the NJDOL. Now, employers must create an Employer Access account and provide an email address to correspond electronically with the NJDOL. Instructions on how to register and helpful FAQs may be found here.
The NJDOL will also create a new form that employers will be required to complete with information about the former employee and their separation from employment. The form will contain directions that enumerate what information an employer must provide to the NJDOL when it separates an employee to enable the NJDOL to make a benefit determination. Employers will be expected to submit separation information regardless of whether the former employee files a claim for unemployment insurance benefits. The NJDOL has stated that employers will not be expected to provide this information immediately upon an employee’s separation until the new form is created and made available.
With these new reporting requirements, the notification and appeal deadlines are also subject to change. The NJDOL will have three weeks from the date a claim is received to make an initial benefits determination. If an employer does not provide the separation information within seven days of request, the claim will be decided based on available information.
Claimants may appeal initial benefits determinations within 21 days of the determination notice being mailed, but employers may only appeal within seven days of receipt of notice. The new regulations eliminate an employer’s ability to retroactively contest a benefit determination if the employer is late in providing separation information.
Additionally, penalties for employer noncompliance have been increased. An employer that willfully fails or refuses to provide the required information will be subject to a $500 fine or 25% of the amount of the unemployment benefits. If it is found that an employer’s error results in an overpayment of benefits to an employee, the employer’s unemployment account will be charged for the error.
Employers should ensure that human resources personnel who handle unemployment insurance matters are made aware of these developments.
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