What's New in State Laws: New Jersey

 New Jersey Immigration

The legislation establishes penalties for employers who disclose or threaten to disclose an employee's immigration status to a public body with the intent of concealing violations of state wage, benefit, or tax laws. The Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development is authorized to impose administrative penalties on such employers, with fines not exceeding $1,000 for the first violation, $5,000 for the second, and $10,000 for any subsequent violations. The determination of the penalty amount will consider factors such as the employer's history of previous violations, the seriousness of the violation, the employer's good faith, and the size of the business. Employers must be notified of the violation and the penalty amount, and they are entitled to request a hearing before the commissioner or a designee. For violations related to state wage, benefit, or tax laws, excluding state unemployment and disability benefits laws, employers have 15 days to request a hearing following notification. If no hearing is requested, the notice becomes a final order after the 15-day period. For violations involving state unemployment and disability benefits laws, the hearing request and penalty payment follow the procedures outlined in those specific laws. Collected penalties will be used to cover enforcement and administration costs of the Division of Wage and Hour Compliance within the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The act takes effect immediately upon enactment (S. 2869 (N.J. 2024), effective Aug. 8, 2024). 

Source(s): Gallagher via Wolters Kluwer, received on October 8, 2024; S 2869 (N.J. 2024), accessed on October 11, 2024

 This was an e-mail Compliance received from Gallagher "Compliance Directions", received on Tuesday October 8, 2024.  We decided to break the information out by State.  Compliance Calendar will be updated appropriately.