Traditionally, New Jersey employers have been free to challenge erroneous unemployment benefit charges even if the error was a result of the employer’s untimely or inaccurate response to the Department of Labor’s request for information about the employee in question. On August 19, 2013, Governor Chris Christie signed a bill (S2739) into law that prohibits relief from erroneous unemployment benefit charges if (1) the excess benefit payment was a result of the employer’s failure to timely (i.e., longer than 10 days) or adequately respond to a request, and (2) the employer or agent has a pattern of failing to respond in a timely or adequate manner to such requests (generally speaking, three or more failures in the previous year demonstrates a pattern).

Note: This article was published in the November, 2013 issue of the New Jersey eAuthority.