Concerns UI employer contribution reports.

S3948

SENATE, No. 3948

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MARCH 16, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� TROY SINGLETON

District 7 (Burlington)

SYNOPSIS

���� Concerns UI employer contribution reports.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning employer contribution reports and amending
R.S.43:21-14

and P.L.1999, c.94 and
repealing section 2 of P.L.1999, c.94.

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

���� 1.��� R.S.43:21-14 is amended
to read as follows:

���� 43:21-14. (a) (1) In addition
to such reports as may be required under the provisions of subsection (g) of
R.S.43:21-11, every employer shall file with the controller periodic
contribution reports on such forms and at such times as the controller shall prescribe,
to disclose the employer's liability for contributions under the provisions of
this chapter (R.S.43:21-1 et seq.), and at the time of filing each contribution
report shall pay the contributions required by this chapter (R.S.43:21-1 et
seq.), for the period covered by such report.� The controller may require that
such reports shall be under oath of the employer.� Any employer who shall fail
to file any report, required by the controller, on or before the last day for
the filing thereof shall pay a penalty of
[
$10.00
]

$100

for each day of delinquency until and including the fifth day following such
last day and for any period of delinquency after such fifth day, a penalty of
[
$10.00
]

$100
a
day or 25% of the amount of the contributions due and payable by the employer
for the period covered by the report, whichever is the lesser; if there be no
liability for contributions for the period covered by any contribution report
or in the case of any report other than a contribution report, the employer or
employing unit shall pay a penalty of
[
$10.00
]

$100
a
day for each day of delinquency in filing or
[
$50.00
]

$500
,
whichever is the lesser; provided, however, that when it is shown to the
satisfaction of the controller that the failure to file any such report was not
the result of fraud or an intentional disregard of this chapter (R.S.43:21-1 et
seq.), or the regulations promulgated hereunder, the controller, in his
discretion, may remit or abate any unpaid penalties heretofore or hereafter
imposed under this section.� On or before October 1 of each year, the
controller shall submit to the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development
a report covering the 12-month period ending on the preceding June 30, and
showing the names and addresses of all employers for whom the controller
remitted or abated any penalties, or ratified any remission or abatement of
penalties, and the amount of such penalties with respect to each employer. Any
employer who shall fail to pay the contributions due for any period, on or before
the date they are required by the controller to be paid, shall pay interest on
the amount thereof from such date until the date of payment thereof, at the
rate of 1% a month through June 30, 1981 and at the rate of 1 1/4% a month
after June 30, 1981.� Upon the written request of any employer or employing
unit, filed with the controller on or before the due date of any report or
contribution payment, the controller, for good cause shown, may grant, in
writing, an extension of time for the filing of such report or the paying of
such contribution, with interest at the applicable rate; provided no such
extension shall exceed 30 days and that no such extension shall postpone
payment of any contribution for any period beyond the day preceding the last
day for filing tax returns under Title IX of the federal Social Security Act
for the year in which said period occurs.

���� (2) (A) For the calendar
quarter commencing July 1, 1984 and each successive quarter thereafter, each
employer shall file a report with the controller within 30 days after the end
of each quarter in a form and manner prescribed by the controller, listing the
name, social security number and wages paid to each employee and the number of
base weeks (as defined in subsection (t) of R.S.43:21-19) worked by the
employee during the calendar quarter.�
For the calendar quarter commencing
on July 1, 2027 and each successive quarter thereafter, each employer shall
file a report with the controller within 30 business days after the end of each
quarter in a form and manner prescribed by the controller, listing the name,
date of birth, Social Security number, job title, address of primary work
location, wages paid for and hours worked during the calendar quarter and in
each base week of the calendar quarter and the number of base weeks, as defined
in subsection (t) of R.S.43:21-19, worked by the employee during the calendar
quarter. The wages paid shall show, respectively and separately, wages for
hours worked and paid time off.

���� (B) Any employer who fails
without reasonable cause to comply with the reporting requirements of this
paragraph (2) shall be liable for a penalty in the following amount for each
employee with respect to whom the employer is required to file a report but who
is not included in the report or for whom the required information is not
accurately reported for each employee required to be included, whether or not
the employee is included:

���� (i) For the first failure for
one quarter in any eight consecutive quarters,
[
$5.00
]

$50
for each employee;

���� (ii) For the second failure
for any quarter in any eight consecutive quarters,
[
$10.00
]

$100
for each employee;
and

���� (iii) For the third failure
for any quarter in any eight consecutive quarters, and for any failure in any
eight consecutive quarters, which failure is subsequent to the third failure,
[
$25.00
]

$250

for each employee.

���� (C)� Information reported by
employers as requested by this paragraph (2) shall be used by the Department of
Labor and Workforce Development for the purpose of determining eligibility for
benefits of individuals in accordance with the provisions of R.S.43:21-1 et
seq.� Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (g) of R.S.43:21-11, the
Department of Labor and Workforce Development is hereby authorized to provide
the Department of Human Services and the Higher Education Student Assistance
Authority with information reported by employers as required by this paragraph
(2).� For each fiscal year, the Director of the Division of Budget and
Accounting of the Department of the Treasury shall charge the appropriate
account of the Department of Human Services and the Higher Education Student
Assistance Authority in amounts sufficient to reimburse the Department of Labor
and Workforce Development for the cost of providing information under this
subparagraph (C).

���� (D)� (Deleted by amendment,
P.L.2015, c.135)

���� (b)�� The contributions,
penalties, and interest due from any employer under the provisions of this
chapter (R.S.43:21-1 et seq.), from the time they shall be due, shall be a
personal debt of the employer to the State of New Jersey, recoverable in any
court of competent jurisdiction in a civil action in the name of the State of
New Jersey; provided, however, that except in the event of fraud, no employer
shall be liable for contributions or penalties unless contribution reports have
been filed or assessments have been made in accordance with subsection (c) or
(d) of this section before four years have elapsed from the last day of the
calendar year with respect to which any contributions become payable under this
chapter (R.S.43:21-1 et seq.), nor shall any employer be required to pay
interest on any such contribution unless contribution reports were filed or
assessments made within such four-year period; provided further that if such
contribution reports were filed or assessments made within the four-year period,
no civil action shall be instituted, nor shall any certificate be issued to the
Clerk of the Superior Court under subsection (e) of this section, except in the
event of fraud, after six years have elapsed from the last day of the calendar
year with respect to which any contributions become payable under this chapter
(R.S.43:21-1 et seq.), or July 1, 1958, whichever is later. Payments received
from an employer on account of any debt incurred under the provisions of this
chapter (R.S.43:21-1 et seq.) may be applied by the controller on account of
the contribution liability of the employer and then to interest and penalties,
and any balance remaining shall be recoverable by the controller from the
employer.� Upon application therefor, the controller shall furnish interested
persons and entities certificates of indebtedness covering employers, employing
units and others for contributions, penalties and interest, for each of which
certificates the controller shall charge and collect a fee of $2.00 per name;
no such certificate to be issued, however, for a fee of less than $10.00.� All
fees so collected shall be paid into the unemployment compensation
administration fund.

���� (c)�� If any employer shall
fail to make any report as required by the rules and regulations of the
division pursuant to the provisions of this chapter (R.S.43:21-1 et seq.), the
controller may make an estimate of the liability of such employer from any
information it may obtain, and, according to such estimate so made, assess such
employer for the contributions, penalties, and interest due the State from him,
give notice of such assessment to the employer, and make demand upon him for
payment.

���� (d)�� After a report is filed
under the provisions of this chapter (R.S.43:21-1 et seq.) and the rules and
regulations thereof, the controller shall cause the report to be examined and
shall make such further audit and investigation as it may deem necessary, and
if therefrom there shall be determined that there is a deficiency with respect
to the payment of the contributions due from such employer, the controller
shall assess the additional contributions, penalties, and interest due the
State from such employer, give notice of such assessment to the employer, and
make demand upon him for payment.

���� (e)�� As an additional remedy,
the controller may issue to the Clerk of the Superior Court of New Jersey a
certificate stating the amount of the employer's indebtedness under this
chapter (R.S.43:21-1 et seq.) and describing the liability, and thereupon the
clerk shall immediately enter upon his record of docketed judgments such
certificate or an abstract thereof and duly index the same.� Any such
certificate or abstract, heretofore or hereafter docketed, from the time of
docketing shall have the same force and effect as a judgment obtained in the
Superior Court of New Jersey, and the controller shall have all the remedies
and may take all the proceedings for the collection thereof which may be had or
taken upon the recovery of such a judgment in a civil action upon contract in
said court. Such debt, from the time of docketing thereof, shall be a lien on
and bind the lands, tenements and hereditaments of the debtor.

���� The Clerk of the Superior
Court shall be entitled to receive for docketing such certificate, $0.50, and
for a certified transcript of such docket, $0.50. If the amount set forth in
said certificate as a debt shall be modified or reversed upon review, as hereinafter
provided, the Clerk of the Superior Court shall, when an order of modification
or reversal is filed, enter in the margin of the docket opposite the entry of
the judgment, the word "modified" or "reversed," as the
case may be, and the date of such modification or reversal.

���� The employer, or any other
party having an interest in the property upon which the debt is a lien, may
deposit the amount claimed in the certificate with the Clerk of the Superior
Court of New Jersey, together with an additional 10% of the amount thereof, or
$100.00, whichever amount is the greater, to cover interest and the costs of
court, or in lieu of depositing the amount in cash, may give a bond to the
State of New Jersey in double the amount claimed in the certificate, and file
the same with the Clerk of the Superior Court. Said bond shall have such surety
and shall be approved in the manner required by the Rules Governing the Courts
of the State of New Jersey.

���� After the deposit of said
money or the filing of said bond, the employer, or any other party having an
interest in the said property, may, after exhausting all administrative
remedies, secure judicial review of the legality or validity of the indebtedness
or the amount thereof, and the said deposit of cash shall be as security for,
and the bond shall be conditioned to prosecute, the judicial review with
effect.

���� Upon the deposit of said money
or the filing of the said bond with the Clerk of the Superior Court, all
proceedings on such judgment shall be stayed until the final determination of
the cause, and the moneys so deposited shall be subject to the lien of the
indebtedness and costs and interest thereon, and the lands, tenements, and
hereditaments of said debtor shall forthwith be discharged from the lien of the
State of New Jersey and no execution shall issue against the same by virtue of
said judgment.

���� Notwithstanding the provisions
of subsections (a) through (c) of this section, the Department of Labor and
Workforce Development may, with the concurrence of the State Treasurer, when
all reasonable efforts to collect amounts owed have been exhausted, or to avoid
litigation, reduce any liability for contributions, penalties and interest,
provided no portion of those amounts represents contributions made by an
employee pursuant to subsection (d) of R.S.43:21-7.

���� (f)�� If, not later than two
years after the calendar year in which any moneys were erroneously paid to or
collected by the controller, whether such payments were voluntarily or
involuntarily made or made under mistake of law or of fact, an employer,
employing unit, or employee who has paid such moneys shall make application for
an adjustment thereof, the said moneys shall, upon order of the controller, be
either credited or refunded, without interest, from the appropriate fund.� For
like cause and within the same period, credit or refund may be so made on the
initiative of the controller.

���� (g)�� All interest and
penalties collected pursuant to this section shall be paid into a special fund
to be known as the unemployment compensation auxiliary fund; all moneys in this
special fund shall be deposited, administered and disbursed in the same manner
and under the same conditions and requirements as is provided by law for other
special funds in the State Treasury, and shall be expended, under legislative
appropriation, for the purpose of aiding in defraying the cost of the
administration of this chapter (R.S.43:21-1 et seq.); for the repayment of any
interest bearing advances made from the federal unemployment account pursuant
to the provisions of section 1202(b) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C.
s.1322; and for essential and necessary expenditures in connection with
programs designed to stimulate employment, as determined by the Commissioner of
Labor and Workforce Development, except that any moneys in this special fund
shall be first applied to aiding in the defraying of necessary costs of the administration
of this chapter (R.S.43:21-1 et seq.) as determined by the Commissioner of
Labor and Workforce Development.� The Treasurer of the State shall be ex
officio the treasurer and custodian of this special fund and, subject to
legislative appropriation, shall administer the fund in accordance with the
directions of the controller.� Any balances in this fund shall not lapse at any
time, but shall be continuously available, subject to legislative
appropriation, to the controller for expenditure.� The State Treasurer shall
give a separate and additional bond conditioned upon the faithful performance
of his duties in connection with the unemployment compensation auxiliary fund,
in an amount to be fixed by the division, the premiums for such bond to be paid
from the moneys in the said special fund.

���� (h) All disputes under
R.S.43:21-1 et seq. unless specifically indicated otherwise, shall be resolved
in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968,
c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.).

���� (i) Notwithstanding any of the
provisions of this section, or any other law, to the contrary, all functions,
powers and duties of the controller and the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce
Development relating to receiving reports, receiving billings, receiving
correspondence, remittance processing, data entry and imaging required pursuant
to this section shall be performed by the Division of Revenue in the Department
of the Treasury.

(cf: P.L.2015, c.135)

���� 2.��� Section 1 of P.L.1999,
c.94 (C.54A:9-17.2) is amended to read as follows:

���� 1. a. Notwithstanding the
provisions of subsection (a) of N.J.S.54A:7-4 to the contrary, except for an
employer also liable for withholding taxes with respect to remuneration for
services rendered other than for domestic service, tax returns filed with respect
to domestic service shall be filed on a calendar year basis.� Such a return
shall be filed on or before January 31 following the close of the calendar year
and the amount of tax withheld shall be paid over to the Director of the
Division of Revenue at that time
[
,
together with those contributions treated as taxes pursuant to the provisions
of section 2 of P.L.1999, c.94 (C.43:21-11.3)
]
.

���� b.��� The director shall
prescribe such regulations as the director deems necessary to carry out the
purpose of allowing employers to convert from a quarterly system of payments
and filing to annual filing
[
,
and to simplify employer filing by allowing the combination of unemployment
compensation, disability benefits and gross income tax remittance for reporting
and payment purposes for employees providing domestic services by treating the
taxes payable pursuant to subsection a. of this section and those contributions
treated as taxes pursuant to the provisions of section 2 of P.L.1999, c.94
(C.43:21-11.3) as taxes subject to the remittance requirements of N.J.S.54A:7-1
et seq. These regulations shall include:

���� (1)�� Provisions for the
forwarding of contributions treated as taxes pursuant to the provisions of
subsection b. of section 2 of P.L.1999, c.94 (C.43:21-11.3), together with such
information as may be necessary, to the Office of the Assistant Commissioner
for Administration and Finance of the Department of Labor for deposit in the
proper funds and accounts established pursuant to the "unemployment
compensation law," R.S.43:21-1 et seq., and the "Temporary Disability
Benefits Law," P.L.1948, c.110 (C.43:21-25 et seq.);

���� (2)�� Provisions for the
apportionment of interest and penalties imposed between liabilities pursuant to
the "New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act," N.J.S.54A:1-1 et seq. and
those contributions treated as liabilities pursuant to the "New Jersey
Gross Income Tax Act" pursuant to the provisions of subsection b. of
section 2 of P.L.1999, c.94 (C.43:21-11.3), and forwarding the latter to the
Office of the Assistant Commissioner for Administration and Finance and the
Director of the Division of Accounting in the Department of Labor for deposit
in the proper funds established pursuant to the "unemployment compensation
law," R.S.43:21-1 et seq., and the "Temporary Disability Benefits
Law," P.L.1948, c.110 (C.43:21-25 et seq.)
]
.

���� c.����
[
Notwithstanding
the provisions of subsection a. of this section, an employer subject to the
provisions of this section shall, within 10 days of the separation from
employment of an employee in domestic service whose contributions are treated
as taxes pursuant to the provisions of section 2 of P.L.1999, c.94
(C.43:21-11.3), report to the Commissioner of the Department of Labor, on a
form determined by the commissioner, wage information for all completed
calendar quarters of employment not previously reported and such other
separation information as may be required to properly process an unemployment
compensation claim.
]
�

(Deleted by amendment, P.L.�� , c.��� ) (pending before the Legislature as
this bill)

���� d.��� For the purposes of this
section, "domestic service" means domestic service as an employee in
a private home of the employer, such as service as a babysitter, nanny, health
aide, private nurse, maid, caretaker, yard worker or similar domestic employee.

(cf: P.L.1999, c.94, s.1)

���� 3.��� Section 2 of P.L.1999,
c.94
(C.43:21-11.3
) is repealed.

���� 4.��� This act shall take
effect one year after the date of enactment, except that the Commissioner of Labor
and Workforce Development may take any anticipatory administrative action as shall
be necessary for the implementation of this act.

STATEMENT

���� This bill amends the New
Jersey
�unemployment compensation law�
to require
quarterly employer contribution reports for all employer categories and to
collect additional data.

���� Under current law, domestic
workers are required to file a report annually and all other employers are
required to file within 30 days after the end of each quarter.� This bill
removes the annual reporting for domestic workers including all employers under
the same quarterly reporting frequency.

���� Under current law, an employer
is required to file a report with the controller listing the name, social
security number and wages paid to each employee and the number of base weeks
worked by the employee during the calendar quarter.� The bill expands this data
to include the employee�s date of birth, job title, address of primary work
location, and the wages paid for and hours worked during the calendar quarter
and in each base week of the calendar quarter and the number of base weeks worked
by the employee during the calendar quarter. �The wages paid is required to show,
respectively and separately, wages for hours worked and paid time off.

���� The bill also increases
reporting related penalties under the �unemployment compensation law.�

���� It is the view of the sponsor
that the collection of enhanced wage records will enable timelier unemployment
insurance, temporary disability insurance, and family leave insurance claim
processing times and provide more accurate labor market information and
data-driven policy.