Requires public service employer to certify employment of qualifying employees under federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program; requires Secretary of Higher Education to develop materials to promote Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

A2367

ASSEMBLY, No. 2367

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman WILLIAM F. MOEN, JR.

District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman Dunn

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires public service employer to certify
employment of qualifying employees under federal Public Service Loan
Forgiveness Program; requires Secretary of Higher Education to develop
materials to promote Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act
concerning certifying employment under the federal
Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program and supplementing Title 34 of the
Revised Statutes and Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� As used in this act:

���� "Certifying
employment" means either completing the employer sections of the Public
Service Loan Forgiveness form or sharing data

directly with the United States
Department of Education that corresponds to the information required for the
Public Service Loan Forgiveness form.

���� "Employee" means
someone who works for a public service employer, regardless of whether the
public service employer considers that work to be full-time or part-time,
contingent, or contracted, and receives a Form W-2 from the employer.

���� "Full-time" for the
purpose of certifying employment means working at least thirty hours per week
or at least thirty hours per week

throughout a contractual or
employment period of at least eight months in a twelve-month period, including
but not limited to, elementary and secondary school teachers, except that if
the United States Department of Education provides for a definition that means
fewer hours per week, the department�s definition shall apply.

���� "Public service
employer" means any employer in the State who is designated as a
qualifying employer under the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
by the United States Department of Education, excluding any federal or tribal
nation government organization, agency, or entity. This term shall include any
State, county, city or other local government employer, including any office,
department, independent agency, school district, public institution of higher
education, public library system, authority, or other body, including the
Legislature and the judiciary. This term shall also include any employer that
has received designation as a tax-exempt organization pursuant to section
501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code.

���� "Public Service Loan
Forgiveness form" means the form used by the United States Department of
Education to certify an individual's employment at a public service
organization and determine eligibility for the purposes of the Public Service
Loan Forgiveness program.

���� "Public Service Loan
Forgiveness Program" means the federal loan forgiveness program
established under the �College Cost Reduction and Access Act� (20 U.S.C.
s.1087e).

���� 2.��� a.� For the purposes of
certifying employment for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program for
educator employees, a public service employer shall credit 3.35 hours worked
for each hour of lecture or classroom time. The provisions of this subsection
shall not supersede any greater adjustment factor established by a collective
bargaining agreement or employer policy in recognition of additional work
associated with lecture or classroom time for the purpose of the Public Service
Loan Forgiveness Program, and shall have no other applicability for public
service employers and their employees.

���� b.��� When determining whether
an employee is considered full-time, for the purpose of certifying employment
for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program only, a public service employer
shall not treat any adjusted total hours worked pursuant to this section
differently from hours worked without an adjustment factor.

���� c.���� For the purpose of
certifying employment only, a public service employer shall consider as
full-time any employee who satisfies the definition of full-time pursuant to
section 1 of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as
this bill).

���� 3.��� a.� In the event that
the United States Department of Education permits public service employers to
certify employment for past or present individual employees or groups of
employees directly with the department or its agents, notwithstanding any other
provision of law, a public service employer shall be permitted to send to the
department or its agents the information necessary for employment
certification.

���� b.��� In the event that a
public service employer does not directly certify employment with the United
States Department of Education pursuant to subsection a. of this section, the
public service employer shall provide notice of renewal and a copy of the Public
Service Loan Forgiveness form with the employer information and employment
certification sections of the form already completed to:

���� (1)�� any employee who
requests a Public Service Loan Forgiveness form;

���� (2)�� annually for any current
employee for whom the public service employer has previously certified
employment; and

���� (3)�� upon separation for any
employee who is ending his or her work with the public service employer.

���� The partially completed form
shall reflect employment for the prior calendar year, and may reflect longer
periods of employment, as necessary.

���� c.���� Nothing in this section
shall prevent a public service employer

from seeking permission from its
employees prior to certifying their

employment.

���� 4.��� a.� The Secretary of
Higher Education, in consultation with the Student Loan Ombudsman designated
within the Department of Banking and Insurance pursuant to section 2 of
P.L.2019, c.200 (C.17:16ZZ-2), shall develop, and update as necessary,
materials designed to promote and increase awareness of the federal Public
Service Loan Forgiveness Program. The materials shall include, but not be
limited to:

���� (1)�� a standardized letter
for public service employers to distribute to their employees that briefly
summarizes the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, provides information
about what eligible employees are required to do in order to benefit from the
program, and recommends that eligible employees contact their student loan
servicer for additional resources;

���� (2)�� a detailed fact sheet
describing the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, including the official
website addresses maintained by the United State Department of Education for
the program and by the United States Department of the Treasury for student loan
borrower resources; and

���� (3)�� a document containing
frequently asked questions about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

���� b.��� The secretary shall
coordinate with other State departments, agencies, and offices as necessary to
make the materials available to public service employers as that term is
defined in section 1 of P.L. , c.��� (C.������� )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill).

���� c.���� Each public service
employer shall annually provide to all employees the most recent available
version of the materials required pursuant to subsection a. of this section in
written or electronic form.

In addition to those materials, a
Public Service Employer shall provide a newly hired employee with those same
materials within 30 days of the employee�s first day of employment by mail, by
electronic mail, or during an in-person new employee orientation.

���� 5.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the sixth month next following enactment.�

STATEMENT

���� This bill requires a public
service employer to certify the employment of qualifying employees under the federal
Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. For the purposes of certifying
employment for educator employees, the employer is required to credit 3.35
hours worked for each hour of lecture or classroom time. Under the bill, this
credit does not supersede any greater adjustment factor established by a
collective bargaining agreement or employer policy in recognition of additional
work associated with lecture or classroom time for the purpose of the Public
Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

���� The bill also provides that,
in the event that the United States Department of Education permits public
service employers to certify employment for past or present individual
employees or groups of employees directly with the department or its agents, notwithstanding
any other provision of law, a public service employer is permitted to send to
the department or its agents the information necessary for employment
certification.

���� Under the bill, in the event
that a public service employer does not directly certify employment with the
United States Department of Education, the public service employer is required
to provide notice of renewal and a copy of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness
form with the employer information and employment certification sections of the
form already completed to:

�

any employee who requests a Public Service Loan Forgiveness form;

�

annually for any current employee for whom the public service
employer has previously certified employment; and

�

upon separation for any employee who is ending his or her work
with the public service employer.

���� The bill also requires the
Secretary of Higher Education, in consultation with the Student Loan Ombudsman
designated within the Department of Banking and Insurance, to develop, and
update as necessary, materials designed to promote and increase awareness of
the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, including:

�

a standardized letter for public service employers to distribute
to their employees that briefly summarizes the Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Program, provides information about what eligible employees are required to do
in order to benefit from the program, and recommends that eligible employees
contact their student loan servicer for additional resources;

�

a detailed fact sheet describing the Public Service Loan
Forgiveness Program, including the official website addresses maintained by the
United State Department of Education for the program and by the United States
Department of the Treasury for student loan borrower resources; and

�

a document containing frequently asked questions about the Public
Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

���� Under the bill, each public
service employer is required to annually provide to all employees the most
recent available version of those materials in written or electronic form. Each
public service employer is required to provide a newly hired employee with
those same materials within 30 days of the employee�s first day of employment
by mail, by electronic mail, or during an in-person new employee orientation.