NJ Companies Must Tell State Who They’ve Hired

New Jersey has a new law, and its goal is to stop employees who return to work from illegally collecting government benefits. Gov. Chris Christie signed the bi-partisan bill yesterday.

“The new law mandates that employers inform DHS of newly hired workers or those who have been rehired after being separated from that employer for at least 60 days,” says Assemblyman Anthony Bucco, one of the legislation’s sponsors. “The incidence of people fraudulently collecting unemployment benefits is alarming and is an additional expense borne by taxpayers.”

The new law says that once DHS gets the notification, it has to be shared with other state agencies that administer compensation programs for jobless New Jerseyans, including the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOL).

“The intent of the law is to have employers cooperate with DHS about new hires and have that information communicated to other departments such as DOL, who will ensure that individuals no longer collect payments improperly,” explains Bucco. “This requirement will be very helpful in stemming the incidence of those who fail to inform the appropriate department they have returned to work.”