New Jersey Department of Labor Considering Amending Unemployment Benefits Regulations

The New Jersey Department of Labor is considering a series of amendments to the unemployment benefits regulations to bring the regulations in line with P.L. 2010, c. 37, a law that significantly amended the standards for unemployment compensation, as well as interim case law interpreting that law. For more information about P.L. 2012, c. 37, see our discussion in the July 2010 issue of the New Jersey eAuthority. The major regulatory changes proposed include: (1) codifying and defining the three new categories of misconduct causing unemployment—“severe misconduct,” “gross misconduct,” and “simple misconduct” (formerly known as “misconduct connected with the work”); (2) modifying the number of weeks of reemployment and total earnings certain employees must meet in order to establish eligibility for unemployment depending on the type of misconduct or cause for separation; and (3) increasing the unemployment disqualification period for certain types of employee misconduct.