Gibbons Law Alert

Gibbons Law Alert

Tagged: Unemployment Compensation

New Jersey Supreme Court Rules on Worker Classification Under the “ABC Test”

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Posted in Unemployment

On September 12, 2022

In East Bay Drywall, LLC v. Department of Labor & Workforce Development, the New Jersey Supreme Court upheld a determination by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (“the Department”) that 16 workers (individuals and business entities) were misclassified as independent contractors, even though East Bay had provided business registrations and insurance certificates for the workers in question. By way of background, East Bay is a drywall installation business that hires installers on a per-job basis. The Department conducted a routine audit and determined that 16 of East Bay’s workers were improperly classified as independent contractors, instead of employees, and thus directed the company to pay unemployment and temporary disability benefit contributions for these misclassified workers. East Bay challenged the audit results and requested a full evidentiary hearing, which was held before an administrative law judge in the Office of Administrative Law (OAL). At the hearing, East Bay’s principal, Benjamin DeScala, testified that once a project bid was accepted, East Bay contacted workers who were free to accept or decline East Bay’s offer of work, and some had even left mid-project if they found a better opportunity. DeScala explained that some workers had told him they had worked for other businesses, but he did not provide any evidence to support that claim. DeScala also stated...

New Jersey Enacts Three Laws with Enhanced Penalties for Employer Misclassification

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Posted in Wage and Hour

On July 20, 2021

On July 8, 2021, Governor Murphy signed into law three bills that amend the Worker Misclassification Package signed into law in January 2020 and intensify penalties against employers that misclassify workers. As employment practitioners across the state will recall, the Misclassification Package signed into law in January 2020 consists of a number of laws that grant the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development (“Commissioner”) the power to assess penalties against any employer that misclassifies its employees and to issue stop-work orders at the location where any state wage, benefit, or employment tax law violation is found. The laws included in the previously enacted Misclassification Package also allow the New Jersey Department of Labor (NJDOL) to post on its website a list of employers who have been found to misclassify their workers and to create joint liability for employers and staffing agencies for violations of state wage and hour laws. For a more detailed look at the Misclassification Package, see here.

FFCRA Benefits Become Optional and Unemployment Benefits Change With New Stimulus Package

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Posted in Employee Benefits / Family Leave

On January 7, 2021

On December 27, 2020, President Donald Trump signed the fourth major COVID-19 response bill into law. The stimulus package includes focused relief in a variety of areas (see our December 21, 2020 post), but two important elements are worth highlighting for employers. First, there have been several changes to pandemic-related unemployment insurance benefits since guidelines were first provided last spring. Second, the emergency paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave benefits provided under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), explained here, expired on December 31, 2020 and were not extended, but employers who opt to offer them remain eligible for tax credits. Unemployment Insurance (UI) Benefits Supplement and Extension The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) provided eligible recipients of state unemployment benefits with an additional $600 per week in federal benefits, which expired in July 2020. The new stimulus package provides eligible individuals who are already collecting state-provided unemployment benefits with an additional $300 per week in federal benefits ($300 less than the last stimulus relief package) for up to 11 weeks through March 14, 2021. These payments, however, are not retroactive to July 2020. The new stimulus package also extends the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) programs. PUA provides benefits to individuals...

The U.S. DOL Issues Updated Guidance on CARES Act Unemployment Programs

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Posted in Employee Benefits

On April 17, 2020

Since our March 28, 2020 post, “Phase Three COVID-19 Response Bill Now Law: What it Means for Businesses and Employees,” the United States Department of Labor (DOL) has issued three additional Unemployment Insurance Program Letters (UIPL), No. 15-20, No. 16-20, and No. 17-20, to provide additional guidance to states on the administration of the three unemployment insurance programs available under the CARES Act. UIPL No. 15-20 UIPL No. 15-20, issued on April 4, 2020, addresses Section 2104 of the CARES Act—Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) benefits—which provides “eligible” individuals who are already collecting state-provided unemployment benefits an additional $600 per week in federal benefits through July 31, 2020. Who is eligible for the additional $600 FPUC payments? Individuals collecting regular unemployment compensation under state programs, Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Extended Benefits (EB), Short-Time Compensation (STC), Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA), Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA), and Payments under the Self-Employment Assistance (SEA) program. FPUC is not available, however, for those receiving “additional benefits” (referred to as “extended benefits” by state UC programs) that extend the duration of benefits during high unemployment to those in approved training programs who have exhausted benefits, or for several other reasons. Individuals must be eligible for and receiving benefits under the above programs in order to be...

Legislation to Invalidate Certain Non-Compete Agreements Introduced in New Jersey

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Posted in Employee Benefits

On April 12, 2013

Earlier this month, a new bill, A3970, was introduced in the New Jersey State Assembly by Assemblymen Peter J. Barnes, III, Joseph V. Egan, and Wayne P. Deangelo limiting the enforcement of certain provisions in employment contracts if the individual is eligible for unemployment compensation. It is unclear if the bill will ultimately pass, and be signed into law by the Governor, but there appears to be support within the state Assembly and Senate. The bill provides that if an unemployed individual is found to be eligible to receive unemployment compensation benefits, that individual shall not be bound by any covenant, contract, or agreement not to compete, not to disclose, or not to solicit. The bill only applies to agreements entered into AFTER the date of enactment.

New Law Prohibits Discrimination Against the Unemployed by NJ Employers

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Posted in Discrimination

On May 27, 2011

Beginning on June 1, 2011, New Jersey employers are prohibited from discriminating against the unemployed in print and Internet job advertisements. Specifically, pursuant to section one of the recently-enacted statute, employers may not knowingly or purposefully publish a job posting that states any of the following: current employment is a job qualification; currently unemployed candidates will not be considered; or only currently employed job applicants will be considered.

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