Did You Know There are Three Types of Misconduct in NJ?

3 Types of Misconduct

*There have been recent changes to the NJ State Law regarding UI misconduct. See our updated article on misconduct in NJ here.

According to the State of NJ Department of Labor, there are three types of misconduct that could factor in an employee qualifying for unemployment benefits (UI).

Depending on the situation, when an employee is fired or discharged from their job for misconduct they may not qualify to collect UI benefits. When someone is fired for misconduct, the claims examiner will determine what type of misconduct caused the separation. Then, if the claimant is disqualified, the disqualification period will be determined according to the type of misconduct. The three types of misconduct are simple, severe and gross.

SIMPLE

Simple misconduct may include a violation of company policies or failure to perform job duties. If the claimant is found to have committed simple misconduct, they can still collect UI benefits after a waiting period. In NJ, simple misconduct disqualification would start the week the termination occurred, and continue for the next seven weeks. The claimant may be eligible to collect UI benefits after the disqualification period ends.

SEVERE

An employee who is terminated for severe misconduct will face harsher disqualification. Some examples of severe conduct are falsification of records, physical assault or threats, abuse of leave or sick time, theft of company property, etc. If the employee was discharged for severe misconduct, the disqualification period is indefinite. In this instance, they are disqualified for UI benefits until they regain employment for four weeks and earn six times the weekly UI benefit amount and become separated through no fault of their own.

GROSS

If the claimant was fired for any first, second, third or fourth degree crime under the “New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice”, that claimant may be disqualified from collecting UI benefits indefinitely. If the employee regains employment, works for at least eight weeks, earns ten times the weekly UI benefit rate, and becomes unemployed through no fault of their own, a gross misconduct disqualification can be lifted. The wages they earned with the discharging employer cannot be used to establish a current or future UI claim, or remove a disqualification.

If the misconduct prompting the separation was related to or due to domestic violence (that is, the employee was absent/late or committed other “types of misconduct” because the employee was a victim of domestic violence), the employee could still qualify to collect UI benefits even though under other circumstances the employee’s actions might be disqualifying.

Managing the UI process for your company can be challenging with all the rules and regulations to keep track of. Outsource its management to Industrial U.I. – we’ve spent years providing UI solutions that help companies handle this complex process and all types of misconduct cases. Contact us for more information on how we can help.