On October 5, 2009, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (“NJDOL”) issued a proposed amendment to the regulations governing the New Jersey Unemployment Compensation Law.Specifically, the NJDOL is seeking to amend the existing definition of “misconduct” set forth in N.J.A.C. 12:17-10.2(a) for purposes of determining when a claimant may be disqualified from receiving benefits when they have engaged in such “misconduct” in connection with their work.
Under the existing regulation, misconduct “must be improper, intentional, connected with one’s work, malicious, and within the individual’s control, and is either a deliberate violation of the employer’s rules or a disregard of standards of behavior which the employer has the right to expect of an employee.” Under the NJDOL’s proposed amended regulation, however, “misconduct” would now be defined as “an act of wanton or willful disregard of the employer’s interest, a deliberate violation of the employer’s rules, a disregard of standards of behavior which the employer has the right to expect of his employee, or negligence in such degree or recurrence as to manifest culpability, wrongful intent, or evil design, or show an intentional and substantial disregard of the employer’s interest or of the employee’s duties and obligations to the employer.”
Consequently, among other things, employers would also appear to be able to establish “misconduct” more easily based upon a new negligence standard. To date, the proposed amended regulation has not yet been adopted.However, written comments were required to be submitted to the NJDOL by December 4, 2009, and we anticipate that the NJDOL will ultimately adopt a regulation modifying the definition of such “misconduct” in some form.
Proposed Changes to NJ Unemployment Compensation Law
On October 5, 2009, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (“NJDOL”) issued a proposed amendment to the regulations governing the New Jersey Unemployment Compensation Law. Specifically, the NJDOL is seeking to amend the existing definition of “misconduct” set forth in N.J.A.C. 12:17-10.2(a) for purposes of determining when a claimant may be disqualified from receiving benefits when they have engaged in such “misconduct” in connection with their work.
Under the existing regulation, misconduct “must be improper, intentional, connected with one’s work, malicious, and within the individual’s control, and is either a deliberate violation of the employer’s rules or a disregard of standards of behavior which the employer has the right to expect of an employee.” Under the NJDOL’s proposed amended regulation, however, “misconduct” would now be defined as “an act of wanton or willful disregard of the employer’s interest, a deliberate violation of the employer’s rules, a disregard of standards of behavior which the employer has the right to expect of his employee, or negligence in such degree or recurrence as to manifest culpability, wrongful intent, or evil design, or show an intentional and substantial disregard of the employer’s interest or of the employee’s duties and obligations to the employer.”
Consequently, among other things, employers would also appear to be able to establish “misconduct” more easily based upon a new negligence standard. To date, the proposed amended regulation has not yet been adopted. However, written comments were required to be submitted to the NJDOL by December 4, 2009, and we anticipate that the NJDOL will ultimately adopt a regulation modifying the definition of such “misconduct” in some form.