The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the
following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
"Agent state" means any state in which an individual files a claim for
benefits against another state.
"Benefits" means the compensation payable to an individual with respect
to his or her unemployment, under the unemployment compensation law of any state.
"Civil union" means the legally recognized union of two eligible
individuals of the same sex established pursuant to
37:1-28 et seq.
"Civil union couple" means two persons who have established a civil union
pursuant to 37:1-28 et seq.
"Civil union license" or "civil union certificate" means a document that
certifies that the persons named on the license or certificate have established a civil union in New Jersey
in compliance with 37:1-28 et seq.
"Civil union partner" means "one partner in a civil union couple," as
that phrase is defined at 37:1-29; that is, a person who has established a civil union
pursuant to the provisions of 37:1-28 et seq.
"Connected with the work" means not only misconduct that occurs in the
course of employment during working hours, but includes any conduct that occurs outside of working hours or
off the employer's premises where there is substantial evidence that the conduct adversely impacts the
employer or the individual's ability to perform the duties of his or her job.
"Controller" means the Controller of the New Jersey Department of Labor
and Workforce Development.
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of
Labor and Workforce Development.
"Department" means the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce
Development.
"Deputy" means a representative of the Division within the New Jersey
Department of Labor and Workforce Development responsible for the administration of the Unemployment
Insurance Benefit Payment Program.
"Director" means the Director of the Division within the New Jersey
Department of Labor and Workforce Development responsible for the administration of the Unemployment
Insurance Benefit Payment Program.
"Division" means the Division within the New Jersey Department of Labor
and Workforce Development responsible for the administration of the Unemployment Insurance Benefit Payment
Program.
"Employee" means any individual who performs services as defined at
43:21-19(i), for an employer, whether on a
full-time or part-time basis.
"Employer" means employer as defined at
43:21-19(h)
or 43:21-8(c).
"Employer-agent" means a person or entity that acts on behalf of an
employer as defined at 43:21-19(h) or
43:21-8(c).
"Employment service office" means a free public employment office, or
branch thereof, operated by this State or maintained as a part of a State-controlled system of public
employment offices or One-Stop Career Centers as prescribed by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998.
29 U.S.C. §§
2801 et seq.
"Gross misconduct" means an act punishable as a crime of the first,
second, third, or fourth degree under the New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice, 2C:1-1
et
seq.
"Interstate Benefit Payment Plan" means the plan approved by the National
Association of State Workforce Agencies under which benefits shall be payable to unemployed individuals
absent from the state (or states) in which benefit credits have been accumulated.
"Interstate claimant" means an individual who claims benefits under the
unemployment insurance law of one or more liable states through the facilities of an agent state. The term
"interstate claimant" shall not include any individual who customarily commutes from a residence in an agent
state to work in a liable state unless the Division finds that in accordance with the Interstate Benefit
Payment Plan commuting would result in excessive travel time or cost to the claimant.
"Liable state" means the state against which an individual files a claim
for benefits through another state.
"Malicious" means when an act is done with the intent to cause injury or
harm to another or others or when an act is substantially certain to cause injury or harm to another or
others.
"Maximum benefit amount" on claims with benefit years commencing on or
after July 1, 1986 and before July 1, 2003, means the total benefits payable to a claimant equal to
three-quarters of the individual's base weeks with all employers in the base year multiplied by the
individual's weekly benefit rate. Moreover, maximum benefit amount on claims with benefit years commencing on
or after July 1, 2003 means the total benefits payable to a claimant equal to the number of the individual's
base weeks with all employers in the base year multiplied by the individual's weekly benefit rate. Pursuant
to 43:21-3(d)(2), the maximum benefit amount shall
not exceed 26 times the individual's weekly benefit rate.
"Misconduct" means conduct that is improper, intentional, connected with
the individual's work, within the individual's control, not a good faith error of judgment or discretion, and
is either a deliberate refusal, without good cause, to comply with the employer's lawful and reasonable rules
made known to the employee or a deliberate disregard of the standards of behavior the employer has a
reasonable right to expect, including reasonable safety standards and reasonable standards for a workplace
free of drug and substance abuse.
"One-Stop Career Center" means one of the centers designated by the local
Workforce Investment Boards and certified by the State Employment and Training Commission to provide
workforce investment services.
"Remuneration" means all compensation for personal services, including
commission and bonuses and the cash value of all compensation in any medium other than cash, including
payments "in kind" as defined at 12:16-4.8.
"Severe misconduct" means an act which (1) constitutes "simple
misconduct," as that term is defined in this section; (2) is both deliberate and malicious; and (3) is not
"gross misconduct."
1. Pursuant to 43:21-5
, as amended by
P.L.
2010, c. 37, such acts of "severe misconduct" shall
include, but not necessarily be limited to, the following: repeated violations of an employer's rule or
policy, repeated lateness or absences after a written warning by an employer, falsification of records,
physical assault or threats that do not constitute "gross misconduct," misuse of benefits, misuse of sick
time, abuse of leave, theft of company property, excessive use of intoxicants or drugs on work premises, or
theft of time; except that in order for any such act to constitute "severe misconduct," it must also (1)
constitute "simple misconduct"; and (2) be both deliberate and malicious.
"Simple misconduct" means an act which is neither "severe misconduct" nor
"gross misconduct" and which is 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 that the employer has the
right to expect of his or her 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. Nothing contained within
this definition should be construed to interfere with the exercise of rights protected under the National
Labor Relations Act or the New Jersey Employer-Employee Relations Act.
"State" means the states of the United States of America, the District of
Columbia, the Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico.
"Unemployment" means the state of being unemployed (that is, not having a
job, out of work). An individual shall be deemed "unemployed" for any week during which he or she is not
engaged in full-time work and with respect to which his or her remuneration is less than the individual's
weekly benefit rate, including any week during which he or she is on vacation without pay; provided such
vacation is not the result of the individual's voluntary action. However, an officer of a corporation, or a
person who has more than a five percent equitable or debt interest in the corporation, whose claim for
benefits is based on wages with that corporation, shall not be deemed to be unemployed in any week during the
individual's term of office or ownership in the corporation.
"Wages" means remuneration paid by employers for employment including "in
kind" payments as provided in N.J.A.C.
12:16-4.8. If a worker receives gratuities regularly in the course of
employment from other than the employer, his or her "wages" shall also include the gratuities received, if
reported in writing to the employer in accordance with regulations of the Division at
12:16-4.9. If gratuities are not reported, the individual's
"wages" shall be determined in accordance with the minimum wage rates prescribed under any labor law or
regulation of this State or of the United States, or the amount of remuneration actually received by the
employee from the employer, whichever is the higher.
"Week" means the calendar week ending at midnight Saturday.
"Weekly benefit rate" means 60 percent of the claimant's average weekly
wage, subject to a maximum of 56 2/3 percent of the Statewide average weekly remuneration paid to workers by
employers subject to the Unemployment Compensation Law.
"Week of disqualification" means a calendar week ending at midnight
Saturday with respect to any disqualification arising under
43:21-5.
"Week of unemployment" includes any week of unemployment as defined in
the Unemployment Compensation Law of the liable state from which benefits with respect to such week are
claimed.
"Week of partial unemployment" means a calendar week ending at midnight
Saturday in which an individual is employed not more than 80 percent of the hours normally worked in that
individual's occupation, profession, trade, or industry; due to lack of work; and earns remuneration which
does not exceed the weekly benefit rate plus 20 percent of such rate.
"Week of total unemployment" means a calendar week ending at midnight
Saturday in which an individual performs no services and with respect to which the individual receives no
remuneration.
