Starting next week, New Jerseyans can get in-person help with unemployment claims. The Department of Labor and Workforce Development is reopening select One-Stop Career Centers, but no walk-ins will be served. Instead, the department is scheduling appointments for workers struggling to resolve their claim issues. State lawmakers have been critical of the department’s handling of claims and urged that the career centers reopen.
Lawmakers have given final approval to a bill that would protect some residents from having their utility services shut off. The state moratorium on shut-offs, put in place during the pandemic, was lifted earlier this month. Under the bill, residents who apply for state assistance to help pay their overdue bills would get a 60-day grace period while their applications are reviewed. Residents must apply for aid before June 15. Some 850,000 customers are behind on their gas and electric bills.
The war in Ukraine is weighing on the minds of business leaders in the state. Christopher Maher, CEO of OceanFirst Bank, says the war is exacerbating problems that businesses were already dealing with, including supply chain issues and increased costs for parts and supplies. Maher says the war is impacting semiconductor supplies as well as supplies for some components used in auto manufacturing.
The state distributed nearly $2.4 million in potentially improper COVID-19 relief funds to 10 fisheries in New Jersey, according to a new report from the state comptroller’s office, which also found that the Department of Environmental Protection ignored red flags on the applications for funding. The report says 22% of the money paid to fisheries may have been improper because the fisheries received more funds than they lost in 2020. The comptroller’s office says those fisheries should return the excess money.
