New Jersey Passes New Pay Transparency Law

On November 18, 2024, Governor Phil Murphy signed into law A4151/S2310, which will require employers to provide pay transparency for employment opportunities advertised internally or externally to the general public. The new law goes into effect on June 1, 2025.

The new requirements are similar to New York’s pay transparency legislation that went into effect last year.

Covered Employers

The new law will apply to “any person, company, corporation, firm, labor organization, or association which has 10 or more employes over 20 calendar weeks and does business, employs persons, or takes applications for employment” within New Jersey. There is no requirement that the threshold 10 employees work in New Jersey for the law to apply, meaning that the posting requirements arguably apply to any employer (including an out-of-state employer) that does business in New Jersey or accepts any applications in New Jersey, so long as the employer meets the 10 employee threshold above. Given the law’s ambiguity, non-New Jersey positions are likely also affected by the law if job applications are collected in New Jersey.

The law specifically includes job placement and referral agencies as covered employers.

Employment/Promotional Opportunities – Posting Requirements

Covered employers will be required to include the hourly wage or salary, or a range of the hourly wage or salary, and a general description of the benefits and other compensation for which the employee hired into the role will be eligible. This information must be included in each posting for new job opportunities made externally to the general public, as well as transfer opportunities advertised internally within the employer.

Importantly for employers, the law provides companies with flexibility to increase the benefits or compensation shown on the job posting when making an official job offer.

The law also requires that covered employers “make reasonable efforts to announce, post, or otherwise make known” opportunities for promotion prior to making a promotional decision. Promotions for current employees based on years of experience or performance are excluded from this advance notice requirement. Additionally, nothing in the new law prohibits employers from making a promotion without complying with this notice requirement “on an emergent basis due to an unforeseen event.”

Penalties for Noncompliance

The law imposes penalties for noncompliance in the amount of $300 for an employer’s first violation and $600 for each subsequent violation. Each job opportunity, transfer opportunity, or promotional opportunity that violates the law will be considered a single violation regardless of the number of postings that list or advertise the position. There is no private right of action and the law provides the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (“NJDOL”) with the power to enforce these new requirements.