New Employment Laws in New Jersey: What HR Pros Need to Know

New Jersey’s recent minimum wage increase to $15.13 puts the spotlight on workers’ rights and benefits. And as the state’s employment numbers increase, discussions surrounding this topic are top of mind for employers in the Garden State.

Compliance isn’t just about legal obligations. It’s about creating an equitable environment for all your employees so they can do their best work. And with nearly five million individuals in the New Jersey workforce, it’s important for businesses to stay up to date on the latest employment laws to ensure compliance with state and federal regulations.

To help you audit your current practices and policies, we’ve compiled the most recent information on New Jersey labor laws. We’ll highlight the key things you need to know about minimum wage, family and medical leave, pay transparency, and child labor laws.

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New Jersey Labor Statistics

• Labor force: 4.8 million
• 4.8% unemployment rate (US rate 4%)
• GDP: $656.48 billion
• Top industries:
  • Transportation, trade, and utilities
  • Education and health services
  • Professional and business services
• Top 5 producer of:
  • Blueberries
  • Cranberries
  • Spinach
  • Bell peppers
  • Peaches
• The Port of New York and New Jersey is the largest port on the East Coast, providing thousands of jobs to the state.

New Jersey Labor Laws

Minimum Wage

One of the most important labor law changes New Jersey employers need to know about is the recent increase in the minimum wage to $15.13 per hour. This change was part of a four-year initiative to raise the minimum wage to $15, with the wage increasing by $1 per year since 2020. The state has also expressed interest in continuing to increase the minimum wage depending on inflation.

This sets New Jersey well above the national minimum wage of $7.25. What’s the reasoning behind this big push? For New Jersey, it’s all about forward thinking. Gov. Phil Murphy told NJ Spotlight News that he hopes the higher minimum wage “will be able to improve [workers’] quality of life and secure a better future for their families.” He also added that workers are “the backbone of our economy” and should be a government priority.

Exceptions to the $15.13 wage apply to:

• Tipped employees, whose required wage is a minimum of $5.26
• Agricultural workers, whose minimum wage is $12.81
• Seasonal and small businesses (six or fewer employees), whose minimum wage is $13.73
• Long-term care staff, whose minimum wage is $18.13

New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA)

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is the nationwide law protecting workers’ right to job-protected leave for family and medical reasons. Many states have adopted their own leave policies—New Jersey’s is known as the New Jersey Family Leave Act or NJFLA.

What does the NJFLA cover?
Under the NJFLA, workers are eligible for 12 weeks of family leave during a 24-month period. These individuals must be at a company with 30 or more employees and have worked at least 1,000 hours in the past 12 months at the same company.

Reasons for leave include pregnancy, birth or adoption of a child, bonding with a new child, foster care, or caring for sick family members.

Per New Jersey law, family leave can be unpaid, although an increasing number of employers are also adopting or expanding their paid family leave policies. The NJFLA ensures employees’ jobs are protected during their leave. If positions have changed at the company during their leave, employees are entitled to a similar position with the same pay and benefits.

While the leave may be unpaid, health benefits are required to continue throughout the leave period. The employee also isn’t required to take all their weeks of leave consecutively.

Does the employee need to work in New Jersey to be eligible for NJFLA?
This question might be relevant to the some 447,000 workers who commute from northern New Jersey to work in New York City.

New Jersey law states that the employee doesn’t have to live in New Jersey or necessarily complete all of their work in New Jersey to be considered an eligible employee under the NJFLA. It depends on a variety of factors, one being how much work is completed in New Jersey and another being a mutual understanding between the employer and the employee about what state they work in.

As an HR professional, you’ll want to craft a relevant policy if this distinction applies to you or your workers.

Pay Transparency

Pay transparency is not yet a requirement in the state of New Jersey, despite several years of consideration and debate. However, New Jersey’s neighbors New York, Connecticut, Maryland, and Rhode Island have already passed pay transparency laws, along with eight other states.

Pay transparency requires an employer to declare the salary or hourly wage range, any supplemental compensation, and benefits (like paid leave, healthcare, dental, and retirement plans) in all job postings. All corporate promotions are also required to be posted.

In late 2022, a proposed pay transparency bill was stopped in its progress when it received insufficient votes from the NJ Senate Labor Committee. State officials had reservations about passing a mandate that they believed wouldn’t be a universal benefit to businesses. Although it lost traction, employers should be aware of this discussion and be prepared in case it resurfaces in the future.

Despite pay transparency not being an official state regulation, businesses may want to consider whether they want to adopt this trend. Adopting pay transparency may help your business appear more trustworthy, and you may receive more applicants for open positions.

Child Labor

About 20% of US teens ages 16 to 19 juggle employment and schooling. If your organization employs minors, there are a few things you need to know to stay compliant with New Jersey regulations. The following is a list of regulations regarding age and type of work activity for minors:

• Minors are prohibited to work more than six consecutive days per week.
• Minors are prohibited to work during school hours.
• With certain exceptions in the agricultural industry, minors under 16 are prohibited to work over 40 hours per week.
• Minors between 12 and 15 aren’t permitted to work more than 18 hours per week during the school year.
• Once 16 years old, a minor can work up to 50 hours per week and 10 hours per day during the summer only.
• Minors are eligible to be paid overtime in hotels, restaurants, and for the first processing of farm products.
• Any minor under 12 is prohibited to work in agriculture.

It’s important to note that minors also need working papers to be eligible to work. Completed working papers serve as a permit allowing a minor to work in the state. The minor, minor’s caregiver, and employer are required to complete the application, which is then approved by the New Jersey Department of Labor. Without approved Working Papers, a minor is ineligible to work.

If you want to hire a minor at your company, here’s the process you need to follow:

1. Interview and offer the minor a position.
2. Create an account at myworkingpapers.nj.gov and receive your unique, eight-digit code.
3. Give the code to the minor to use in their application.
4. Complete necessary information in your account after the minor has completed their information.
5. After the minor’s caregiver has completed their portion and the DOL approves the working papers, the minor is officially eligible to work.

This process must be completed before the minor’s first day of work.

Your Free HR Compliance Checklist

Minimum wage, NJFLA, pay transparency, and child labor are only some of the fundamental labor laws that business leaders need to know. Staying informed of these laws will not only mitigate the risks of facing legal trouble but also cultivate an environment where every employee is valued for their contributions and receives the benefits they deserve.

When it comes to compliance, there’s a lot to keep track of. Download our free HR compliance checklist, so you don’t miss a beat!