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The assessment against each employer shall be in an amount equal to its unemployment contributions payable on the total taxable wages it paid during the preceding calendar year multiplied by the ratio established herein but in no event shall any assessment be less than $5.00. This special assessment shall be mailed by the controller to all affected employers on or before July 31 and shall be due 30 days from that date. This assessment shall be collectible by the controller in the same manner as provided for employer contributions under chapter 21 of Title 43 of the Revised Statutes.

d. All moneys received by the controller under this special assessment shall be deposited in the Unemployment Compensation Interest Repayment Fund. After all known interest charges have been paid, any remaining moneys in the fund may be transferred to the unemployment compensation auxiliary fund at the discretion of the Commissioner of Labor.

CH. 508, L. 1986, AGRICULTURAL WORKER LEGISLATION

1. (New section) The Legislature finds and determines that:

a. Agriculture is now and has traditionally been an essential part of the State's economic base, and it is the public policy of this State to ensure the survival of this sector of the economy, particularly in the face of encroaching industrial and commercial development and increasing urbanization; and

b. The continuing survival of New Jersey agriculture is dependent upon a steady and reliable supply of labor; and

c. The complexity of the problem of the compensation of agricultural laborers, which has been heightened by the increasing urbanization and industrial development in this State, needs to be studied by the Legislature in order to determine what remedial actions it may be necessary to take; and

d. It is the intention of the Legislature that the problems of the New Jersey agricultural workers be addressed without sacrificing the basic principles of the recently enacted unemployment compensation reform law (P.L. 1984, c. 24), which was a product of cooperation between business and labor; and

e. The following are valid public purposes and are not regarded by the Legislature as sacrificing the basic principles of the unemployment compensation reform law:

(1) Creating a commission to study the hiring, employment and compensation of agricultural labor in this State, to report its findings thereon, and to propose solutions to the Legislature; and

(2) Enacting temporary measures to assist certain agricultural workers to maintain eligibility for unemployment compensation benefits during the time that the commission conducts its study.