Blank Rome Labor & Employment Alert: New Jersey Employers Must Use New Portal to Report Separations

Daniel J. Sobol, Julia C. Riskowitz, and Sarah M. Kirkpatrick ●

Daniel Sobol headshot photo

New Jersey employers are now required to report all employee separations through the new “Employer Response Portal” recently launched by the New Jersey Department of Labor (“NJDOL”). This new requirement applies to every type of separation—resignations, terminations, retirements, and layoffs—regardless of whether the departing employee files for unemployment benefits. This new requirement is separate from, and in addition to, the existing requirement that employers provide departing employees with Form BC-10.

Background

On November 3, 2022, Governor Phil Murphy signed P.L. 2022, c. 120, which amended New Jersey Unemployment Compensation Law to impose new separation reporting requirements on employers. Under the amended law, employers must “immediately and simultaneously” report each separation electronically, providing the date of separation and other information the NJDOL uses to determine benefits eligibility. Although the law took effect on July 31, 2023, the NJDOL delayed enforcement until it could build a dedicated online reporting system.

With that new system completed, the NJDOL has launched the Employer Response Portal, an online platform designed to streamline the reporting process. Employers are now required to use the portal to report separations within seven days of an employee’s separation date. 

To read the full alert, please visit our website.

Same ABCs, New Rules: New Jersey Finalizes Updated Regulatory Framework for Worker Classification

Gabrielle I. Weiss ●

On May 5, 2026, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (“NJDOL”) filed its final rule adopting N.J.A.C. 12:11, which provides regulatory guidance on how the state’s longstanding “ABC” test is applied to determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. The final rule, which carries an operative date of October 1, 2026, arrives after a contentious rulemaking process that drew sharp criticism from financial services and insurance to construction and app-based transportation. While the ABC test itself is nothing new in New Jersey—it has been the statutory standard for nearly 90 years—these rules represent the first comprehensive regulatory framework explaining how the NJDOL interprets and applies the test. Critically, the ABC test in New Jersey governs not just unemployment insurance but also the state’s Wage and Hour Law, Wage Payment Law, Earned Sick Leave Law, and Temporary Disability Benefits Law, giving these rules a practical reach far broader than similar regulations in most other states. Employers operating in the state should begin evaluating their independent contractor relationships now to prepare for implementation.

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