NJ Businesses Must Now Report All Employment Separations
1/26/2025
All New Jersey employers, regardless of staff size, must now promptly report on-line certain information to the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development whenever an employee is separated from employment.
To satisfy this reporting requirement, employers must register with the State’s new online Employer Response Portal at www.nj.gov/labor/ea/employer-services/register-update/employeraccess.shtml. For every employment separation (regardless of reason, including layoffs, resignations, terminations, or retirements), employers must report the separation through the Portal within seven days. The reporting obligation applies even before an employee files a claim for unemployment insurance benefits and regardless whether the employer anticipates the employee will file a claim. Information regarding the termination, including date and reason, must be submitted via the Portal.
This new on-line reporting requirement is in addition to an employer’s existing legal obligation to provide a separated employee with a completed Form BC-10 immediately upon separation. Form BC-10 includes instructions on how to apply for unemployment benefits. Employers may access the form template at nj.gov/labor/forms_pdfs/ui/BC10.pdf.
An employer that fails to register for the Portal or to timely submit required employee separation information may be subject to penalties. The NJ Division of Unemployment Insurance may impose fines of $500 for each willful failure to provide the required reports and information or twenty-five percent of the amount of unemployment benefits that an employee would have received but for the employer’s failure to comply with these requirements.
The on-line reporting obligations went into effect on December 8, 2025. Employers should have in place compliant procedures about processing employment terminations and should ensure that they have registered with the Portal. Employers should be mindful of how they describe the reason for the termination, particularly when the termination was not voluntary. Also, in connection with employment terminations, employers should have in place notification procedures about a departing employee’s COBRA or mini-COBRA rights and any rights the individual may have to convert group life insurance to individual coverage.
Because of the potential risks and liability, any employer with questions regarding its reporting obligations should seek legal counsel.
For more information about how your organization can properly manage FMLA compliance, please contact:
Jay Sabin, Esq., Member, Labor and Employment Practice at 917.596.8987 or jsabin@bracheichler.com
Sarah A. Gober, Esq., Counsel, Labor and Employment Practice at 973.364.8375 or sgober@bracheichler.com
Jay Sabin
Member
Labor and Employment, Cannabis Industry
917.596.8987 · 973.618.5907 Fax
jsabin@bracheichler.com
