Exempts poll workers wages from affecting unemployment compensation.

2026-2027 Regular Session Introduced by Al Barlas and 17 co-sponsors

Exempts poll worker wages from reducing unemployment benefits and treats temporary election work as non-employment for unemployment purposes.

Passed Senate (Passed Both Houses) (40-0)

Overview

Bill: Assembly No. 1516 (A1516)

Session: New Jersey, 222nd Legislature

Jurisdiction: New Jersey

Purpose: Exempts wages earned by poll workers from being counted as earnings that affect unemployment compensation; also clarifies that wages paid to temporary board workers for election duties are not considered "employment" for unemployment benefits purposes.

Main Intent

The bill aims to ensure that individuals who work as poll workers during elections do not see reductions or disqualifications in unemployment benefits based on those poll-worker wages.

It also clarifies election-related temporary work as non-employment for unemployment insurance calculations, reducing potential adverse impact on benefits.

Key Provisions

Amends R.S.43:21-19 (Definitions) to adjust how "employment" and "remuneration" are treated for unemployment benefits purposes.

Specifically, the bill:

Exempts wages earned as a poll worker from affecting an individual's unemployment compensation. In practice, poll worker pay will not be counted as remuneration that reduces weekly unemployment benefits.
Exempts services performed as a temporary board worker hired by a district board of elections to discharge election duties from the definition of "employment" under the unemployment compensation law.

The act is to take effect immediately upon enactment.

Who Would Be Affected

Unemployed individuals collecting unemployment benefits who might have otherwise earned poll-worker wages during election periods.

Poll workers and temporary board workers who are compensated for election-related duties (election day work, processing mail-in ballots, early voting-related tasks) would be insulated from those wages impacting their unemployment benefits.

Employers and election-related entities (e.g., local boards of elections) in terms of wage reporting for unemployment purposes, as the specified election-related wages are excluded from unemployment calculations.

Procedural and Timeline Details

Effective Date: Immediate upon enactment.

Legislative History (Action Timeline):

Introduced and referred to Assembly Labor Committee (January 13, 2026)
Reported with amendments and moved to Assembly Appropriations Committee (March 16, 2026)
Reported out of Assembly Committee with amendments and 2nd Reading (June 8, 2026)

Sponsors:

Primary: Assemblyman Clinton Calabrese; Assemblyman William B. Sampson IV
Co-Sponsors: Aura Dunn, Shanique Speight, Vicky Flynn, Gerry Scharfenberger, Shama Haider, Al Barlas, Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, Alixon Collazos-Gill
Additional co-sponsors listed in sponsor roster

Practical Impact

Unemployment benefits calculations would be softened for individuals who also perform poll worker duties, preventing election-related earnings from reducing or affecting eligibility in weeks they serve as poll workers.

Elections administration may experience reduced administrative friction in wage reporting related to poll workers, since those wages are not treated as employment for unemployment purposes.

The bill aligns unemployment benefits policy with the logic that poll-watching and election administration are temporary, occurrence-based public service duties rather than traditional employment for purposes of unemployment insurance.

If you’d like, I can provide a plain-language example showing how a hypothetical poll worker’s weekly benefit calculation would change under A1516.