Sponsored by:
Senator TROY SINGLETON
District 7 (Burlington)
SYNOPSIS
Excludes payments made for unemployment compensation benefits related to layoffs resulting from public health emergency or state of emergency from calculation of employer contribution for unemployment compensation benefits.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning employer contributions to the unemployment compensation fund and supplementing Title 43 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S.43:21-7, the costs of any unemployment compensation benefits paid during a public health emergency or state of emergency shall not be considered when calculating employer contributions to the State unemployment compensation fund, established by R.S.43:21-9.
b. As used in this section:
"Public health emergency" means an occurrence or imminent threat of an illness or health condition, caused by bio terrorism, epidemic or pandemic disease, or a novel and highly fatal infectious agent or biological toxin, that poses a substantial risk of a significant number of human fatalities or incidents or permanent or long-term disability, and which has been declared a public health emergency by the Governor.
"State of emergency" means a natural or man-made disaster or emergency for which a state of emergency has been declared by the Governor.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill excludes from the calculation of employer contributions to the unemployment compensation fund payments made for unemployment compensation benefits related to layoffs resulting from a public health emergency or a state of emergency. Under current law, an employer's contribution rate to the unemployment compensation fund is affected by the employer's experience rating; that is, the number of times a former employee of an employer collects benefits impacts the employer's contribution rate for the following year. This bill excludes from the calculation of the employer contribution rate benefits paid to employees in relation to a public health emergency or a state of emergency.