Revises unemployment compensation law.
# Summary of New Jersey Unemployment Insurance Bill
This legislative bill amends New Jersey's unemployment insurance (UI) laws to make several significant changes:
1. **Expanded Dependent Coverage**: Adds disabled, unmarried adult children of UI claimants (whose disability began before age 22) to the dependents counted when calculating weekly benefit amounts.
2. **Student Eligibility**: Removes the current requirement that claimants must have earned sufficient wages while enrolled in full-time education. Eligible individuals who are students in full-time attendance or on vacation from an educational institution are no longer deemed ineligible for UI benefits, provided they remain available for work.
3. **Training Program Eligibility**: Shifts provisions allowing UI benefits for participants in department-approved training programs from being an exception to being a standard eligibility circumstance, with participation required to align with existing provisions.
4. **Electronic Communication**: Allows claimants to request electronic notification of their initial benefit determination.
5. **Appeal Process**: Clarifies that benefits paid pending appeal are based on the initial determination until the appeal tribunal makes a decision, after which benefits are paid according to the appeal tribunal's decision.
6. **Overpayment Rules**: Removes the requirement that employers be charged for overpayments before appeal resolution. It also revises overpayment repayment rules to provide full waiver if the overpayment was caused by department or employer error (without claimant misrepresentation), or if the claimant is deceased, disabled, or recovery would be contrary to equity and good conscience.
7. **Average Weekly Wage Calculation**: Changes how average weekly wage is calculated to be based on wages with all base year employers (not just the most recent employer), with the total number of base weeks limited to 52.
8. **Extended Benefits**: Modifies requirements for claimants disqualified due to misconduct or failure to accept suitable work, requiring only completion of regular UI disqualification period rather than earning four times the weekly benefit rate.
The bill also requires the Department of Labor to develop electronic access for claimants to view their benefit payment status and history.
Sections 4 and 6 of the bill apply retroactively to July 31, 2023, effectively making it as if the provisions they replace (added by P.L.2022, c.120) never took effect.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2024
Committee Review
Jun 2024
General Assembly Passage
Jun 2024
Senate Passage
Oct 2024
Signed into Law
Dec 2024
Introduced Mar 7, 2024
Signed Dec 12, 2024
Floor votes · Senate Oct 28, 2024 · General Assembly Jun 28, 2024
How they voted
36–3
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 40
Oct 28, 2024
D
Democratic25
96% Yea
R
Republican15
80% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
9
Key actions
4
Committee
3
Dec 12, 2024
Signed into law
Approved P.L.2024, c.102.
executive
Oct 28, 2024
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (Passed Both Houses) (36-3)
upper
Jun 28, 2024
Lower · Passed
Passed Assembly (55-22-0)
lower
Jun 26, 2024
Lower · Passed
Reported out of Assembly Committee, 2nd Reading
lower
Jun 26, 2024
Committee
Transferred to Assembly Budget Committee
lower
Mar 11, 2024
Committee
Reported and Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee
lower
Mar 7, 2024
Introduced
Introduced in the Assembly, Referred to Assembly Labor Committee
lower
5 primary · 5 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Anthony Verrelli
DDemocratic
P
Cody Miller
DDemocratic
P
Paul Moriarty
DDemocratic
P
Raj Mukherji
DDemocratic
P
Will Sampson
DDemocratic
Co
Angela McKnight
DDemocratic
Co
Barbara McCann Stamato
DDemocratic
Co
Gabe Rodriguez
DDemocratic
Co
Julio Marenco
DDemocratic
Co
Verlina Reynolds-Jackson
DDemocratic
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