N.J. Admin. Code § 12:17-12.2

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 23, December 2, 2024

Section 12:17-12.2 - Labor disputes

(a) The following words and terms, as used in this section, shall have the following meanings:

1. "Labor dispute" means any controversy concerning wages, hours, working conditions or terms of employment between an employer and a bargaining unit or a group of employees.

2. "Stoppage of work" means a substantial curtailment of work which is due to a labor dispute. Justification for the labor dispute may not be considered. An employer is considered to have a substantial curtailment of work if not more than 80 percent of the normal production of goods or services is met.

(b) A claimant shall be disqualified from unemployment insurance benefits if he or she is unemployed due to a work stoppage that occurs because of a labor dispute at the factory, establishment, or other premises at which the claimant is or was last employed.

(c) No disqualification pursuant to (b) above shall occur if it is shown by the claimant, or a representative of the claimant, that:

1. The claimant is not participating in, or financing or directly interested in, the labor dispute that caused the stoppage of work; and

2. The claimant does not belong to a grade or class of workers employed at the factory, establishment, or other premises where the work stoppage occurred, any of whose members are participating in or financing or directly interested in the labor dispute.

(d) No disqualification pursuant to (b) above shall occur if it is shown by the claimant, or a representative of the claimant, that:

1. The claimant has been prevented from working by the employer, even though the claimant's recognized or certified majority representative has directed the employees in the claimant's collective bargaining unit to work under the preexisting terms and conditions of employment; and

2. The employees had not engaged in a strike immediately before being prevented from working.

(e) No disqualification pursuant to (b) above shall occur if it is shown by the claimant, or a representative of the claimant, that the labor dispute is caused by the failure or refusal of the employer to comply with:

1. An agreement or contract between the employer and the claimant, including a collective bargaining agreement with a union representing the claimant; or

2. A State or Federal law pertaining to hours, wages, or other conditions of work.

(f) For the purpose of determining whether the exception from disqualification pursuant to (c) above applies, where separate branches of work, that are commonly conducted as separate businesses in separate premises, are conducted in separate departments of the same premises, each department shall be deemed to be a separate factory, establishment, or other premises.

(g) With regard to any claim for unemployment insurance benefits where the unemployment is caused by a labor dispute, including a strike or other concerted activities at the claimant's workplace, whether or not the strike or other concerted activities are authorized or sanctioned by a union representing the claimant, the claimant shall not be provided unemployment insurance benefits for a period of the first 30 days following the commencement of the unemployment caused by the labor dispute (30-day waiting period).

(h) The 30-day waiting period for receipt of unemployment insurance benefits set forth at (g) above shall not apply to a claim for unemployment insurance benefits where the claimant has been determined not to be disqualified pursuant to either (d) or (e) above.

(i) The 30-day waiting period for receipt of unemployment insurance benefits set forth at (g) above shall not apply if the employer hires a permanent replacement worker for the claimant's position.

1. A replacement worker shall be presumed to be permanent, unless the employer certifies, in writing, to the claimant, the claimant's recognized or certified majority representative, and the Department, immediately upon hiring the replacement worker that the claimant will be permitted to return to his or her prior position, upon conclusion of the labor dispute.

i. The written certification to the Department shall be sent by the employer to the Director of the Division of Unemployment Insurance, PO Box 058, 1 John Fitch Plaza, Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0058.

2. Regardless of whether a written certification is provided to the claimant and the Department pursuant to (i)1 above, if the employer does not permit the claimant to return to his or her prior position upon conclusion of the labor dispute, the claimant shall be entitled to recover any unemployment insurance benefits lost as a result of the 30-day waiting period.

N.J. Admin. Code § 12:17-12.2

Amended by R.2006 d.43, effective 1/17/2006.
See: 37 N.J.R. 3545(a), 38 N.J.R. 819(a).
In (a)2, deleted "There is no distinction made with regard to whether the work stoppage is caused by a strike or a lockout."; added (c)1; recodified former (c)1-3 as (c)2-4.

Amended by 55 N.J.R. 1025(b), effective 5/15/2023