P.L. 2022, c. 120 (S2357), effective July 31, 2023, requires employers and the Division of Unemployment Insurance to conduct all communication electronically.
Read the FAQs below for additional guidance on electronic submission of information on employee separation, receipt of determinations, and filing or responding to Unemployment Insurance appeals.
NJDOL’s Division of Unemployment Insurance has taken the first step toward implementation of this new requirement by communicating to all employers the need for them to register with Employer Access and provide an email address to the Division. However, the Division has not yet provided to employers the “directions” that would instruct them what information an employer must provide to the Division immediately upon an individual’s separation from employment. Until those “directions” are provided to employers by the Division, employers will not be expected to provide information to the Division immediately upon an employee’s separation from employment. The Department is at work preparing the “directions” to employers and is also in the process of creating an online form for use by employers to submit the required information. While the “directions” and online form are being developed, the Division will exercise its discretion under the law to neither assess penalties against employers, nor bar them from obtaining relief of benefit charges, for failure to provide information immediately upon an individual’s separation from employment. During this time, employers will continue to be required to respond in a timely manner, as they had previously, to all requests from the Division for separation and wage information.
Guidance on all the new law's requirements and their impact on employers will be coming out soon.
You should create an account with Employer Access as soon as possible. After you create an account, you will continue to receive updates from NJDOL’s Unemployment Insurance Division via email.
If you already have an account with Employer Access, no additional action is needed.
On your 2023 Annual Combined Assessment Bill, sent at the end of July, you will receive a unique code that you should use to register with Employer Access. Information about the Combined Assessment Bill can be found here.
You can you use your existing Employer Access account to receive electronic communication. You do not need to setup a new Employer Access account and you will be notified if and when any further action is needed.
Follow instructions on your Annual Combined Assessment Bill for instructions on how to create an account with Employer Access. Once you create the Employer Access account, you will need to link your existing myNewJersey account to your Employer Access account. Do not create a new myNewJersey account.
You can still register for Employer Access. When asked “Do you have the authorization code issued by NJDOL”, answer no. You will be asked to provide more information to receive an authorization code.
You should register with Employer Access. The system will ask if you have a myNewJersey account. If you don't, it will prompt you to create a myNewJersey account and connect it to your Employer Access account.
We advise all employers to register for Employer Access first; you will then be the administrator for your account. As the administrator you can grant access to your authorized users, such as your TPA.
Under the law, a PEO and client company are co-employers of the employees of the client company. Between the two entities, PEO and client company, the PEO is considered the responsible party for the purpose of reporting wage and separation information to NJDOL’s Division of Unemployment Insurance. Therefore, the PEO is expected to register through Employer Access for the purpose of communicating electronically with the Division regarding unemployment insurance claims.
Email us at EmployerAccess@dol.nj.gov.
If you do not believe you can comply with the requirements to communicate via email you may request a waiver by sending the Division a signed, sworn affidavit, in the form prescribed by New Jersey Court Rule 1:4-4, stating that you have no access to a computer, through any means, for the purposes of communicating electronically with the division. Send your waiver request to:
New Jersey Department of Labor
Division of Unemployment Insurance
Customer Service Office
PO Box 058
Trenton, NJ 08625-0058
While the law takes effect July 31, 2023, NJDOL is still developing the new infrastructure that will enable this new requirement.
More information will be provided about this requirement when the new feature becomes available.
Full question: "I understand that under the new law, an employer must provide separation and wage information to the Division immediately upon the employee’s separation from employment and that the Division will be providing employers with “directions” telling them what wage and separation information the Division will need. But, as I read the law, it also seems to say that immediately upon the employee’s separation from employment, the employer must send the Division the completed BC-10 form that the employer would ordinarily provide just to the separated employee. Does the employer have to send the Division the completed BC-10 form when an employee is separated from employment?"
You are correct that under the new law an employer must provide separation and wage information to the Division immediately upon the employee’s separation from employment and that the Division will be providing employers with “directions” telling them what wage and separation information the Division will need. As to the BC-10 form that the employer ordinarily would provide just to the separated employee, the new law does not require that an employer send that completed BC-10 form to the Division immediately upon the employee’s separation from employment. Rather, under the new law, the only information from the BC-10 form that the employer is required to provide to the Division immediately upon the employee’s separation from employment is the date upon which the unemployment will begin.
It is the Department's understanding that the law's shortening of the time limit for an employer to file an appeal from 10 calendar days to 7 calendar days is directly related to the law's requirement that all communications between employers and the Division transition from postal to electronic. Since the Department is in the process of implementing the full transition from postal to electronic communication with employers, in the interest of equity and fairness, the Department is exercising its discretion until the transition from postal to electronic communication is complete to accept appeals from employers that are submitted within pre-P.L. 2022, c. 120 time limits.
