How to Complete and Return the NJ E10 Employer Information Form

New Jersey’s E10 employer information form is a request from the Division of Unemployment Insurance for wage data, employment dates, and the reason a current or former employee is no longer working for you, and you have seven calendar days from the date the request is sent to return it.¹ Answer it accurately and on time and you protect your unemployment tax rate and keep the right to contest benefit charges. Ignore it, or send it late, and the state decides the claim on what the claimant said.

What To Pull Together Before You Open the Form

Get the records in front of you first. Guesswork is what creates the discrepancies between your answers and the claimant’s story that trigger disputes.

The claimant’s full legal name and Social Security Number, matched against what is printed on the E10.
Date of hire and the last day the person actually worked, taken from your payroll system rather than a manager’s memory.
Gross earnings for the periods the form specifies, reported before taxes and deductions. New Jersey uses a base-year calculation, and for claims filed in 2026 a qualifying base week is one in which the employee earned at least $310.²
Separation paperwork: resignation letter or email, termination notice, written warnings, performance improvement plans, layoff notice, incident reports. If you are asserting misconduct, written documentation is required before the department makes its determination.³

Reporting the Reason for Separation

This is the field that decides the claim. The three basic categories are lack of work, voluntary quit, and discharge, and each one has different proof requirements.

Lack of Work

Layoffs, hour reductions, and the end of a seasonal or temporary assignment all fall here. These claims rarely face a disqualification challenge, and benefits paid will generally be charged to your experience-rating account. State the reason plainly and include the effective date.

Voluntary Quit

When an employee resigns, benefits can be denied unless the claimant shows good cause attributable to the work. Attach the resignation letter or email, or reference it, and be specific about what happened. Did the person give notice, walk out after a dispute, or just stop showing up? “Employee quit” by itself gives the adjudicator nothing, and vague answers tend to end with the claimant’s version being accepted.

Discharge for Misconduct

New Jersey defines misconduct as conduct that is improper, intentional, connected to the work, within the employee’s control, and not a good-faith error in judgment. It covers deliberate refusal to follow reasonable workplace rules and deliberate disregard of behavioral standards the employer has a right to expect, including safety rules and substance-use policies.³ To sustain a misconduct disqualification you must provide written documentation before the department rules. Attach the warning letters, incident reports, and policy-violation records. A bare “terminated for cause” without paperwork almost never holds.

Gross misconduct carries a harsher penalty for the claimant, including potential forfeiture of all benefits connected to your employment. If the behavior rises to that level, describe the specific acts and attach every piece of evidence you have.

Reporting Wages and Separation Payments

Use payroll-system figures, not rounded estimates. The state cross-checks your numbers against the quarterly wage reports you already file, and inconsistencies get flagged.

Separation payments go in their own fields because New Jersey treats them differently for benefit timing. Severance based on years of service does not extend employment and generally does not delay benefit eligibility. Salary continuation through termination and payments made in lieu of notice do extend the employment period and can push back when benefits begin.⁴ Enter vacation pay, holiday pay, severance, and lump-sum payments in the designated fields rather than folding them into gross wages. The breakdown directly affects the timing and amount of the weekly benefit.

How to Submit Your Response

The statute itself directs employers to furnish the information by electronic means.¹ The Division of Unemployment Insurance runs an Employer Response Portal where you can complete separation and monetary information requests online.⁵ The portal walks through each section and generates a confirmation when you finish. Save it. That confirmation is your proof of timely response.

Employers handling claims across multiple states often prefer the State Information Data Exchange System (SIDES), which automates the data exchange between your organization and state workforce agencies.⁶ SIDES E-Response works for lower-volume employers and needs no special software. SIDES System Integration is built for high-volume employers, third-party administrators, and professional employer organizations.

If you received a paper form and want to return it by mail or fax, use the address and fax number printed on the form. Fax beats mail when the clock is tight; keep the transmission confirmation either way. Your delivery choice does not pause the seven-day clock.

The Seven-Day Deadline

Under N.J.S.A. 43:21-6, employers must return the requested information within seven calendar days after receiving the electronic notification or request.¹ The clock runs from the date the notification was sent, not the date you opened it. Most late responses happen because the form sits in an inbox or on a desk while payroll is pulling records.

Miss the window and the deputy assigned to the claim will decide it on whatever other information is available, including the claimant’s own sworn statement about wages and work history.¹ Benefits may be approved on one-sided information and charged against your account, and your ability to contest shrinks sharply once an initial determination has been issued without your input.

Build an internal routing rule so these requests reach the right person the same day they land. If a payroll service or third-party administrator handles your filings, make sure they are set up to receive SIDES notifications directly.

Why the Response Matters for Your Tax Rate

Every dollar of benefits paid to a former employee is charged to your experience-rating account unless you successfully contest the claim. New Jersey calculates your unemployment insurance contribution rate from your reserve ratio, which uses your contributions minus the benefits charged against your account.⁷ More charges mean a higher rate.

A thorough, on-time E10 response is the first line of defense. If you have a legitimate basis for contesting a claim, the written response you file is the foundation of that contest. Skip it and you lose the ability to dispute the charges before they land.

What Happens After You Respond

The Division issues a written initial determination. If you disagree with it, you have seven calendar days from confirmed receipt of that notice to file an appeal.¹ Miss it and the determination is final. New Jersey law expressly prohibits late appeals of initial determinations, and “I didn’t see the letter” generally is not good cause.⁸

If the appeal goes to a hearing before the Appeal Tribunal, it is conducted by telephone. Bring the same documentation that supported (or should have supported) your E10: warning letters, payroll records, attendance logs, and any witnesses to the separation. Your best shot at the outcome is still the original E10 response. A thorough one filed within seven days gives you ground to stand on if the claim escalates.