HR Alerts

Nov 2024

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas vacated the Biden administration’s overtime rule less than two months before the full effective date.  The increase in the overtime threshold to $59k, scheduled to become effective on January 1, 2025, will not go into effect. The increase to $44k that had previously taken effect on July 1, 2024 is nullified.The court found the U.S. Department of Labor exceeded its authority by raising the salary threshold for exemptions too high and allowing for automatic adjustments every three years.  The rule was struck down on a nationwide basis. 

Nov 2024

UPDATE – Governor Murphy has signed this bill into law and it becomes effective June 1, 2025.  EANJ members can access our law summary (login required) for details on this new law.The NJ Legislature has passed a bill which would require employers with 10 or more employees to include a pay range in job postings.  The bill would also require employers take “reasonable” steps to make opportunities for promotions known to current employees.  Any employer that fails to comply with the requirements of the bill would be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $300 for the first violation and $600 for each subsequent violation.Governor Phil Murphy has until Nov. 10, 2024, to sign the bill into law, which would become effective seven months after its enactment.  Stay tuned. 

Oct 2024

The NJ Department of Labor has increased the maximum weekly benefits for claims filed in 2025:    Workers’ Compensation Rate: $1,159 per week    Temporary Disability Benefit Rate: $1,081 per week    Family Leave Insurance: $1,081 per week    Unemployment Compensation Rate: $875 per week 

Oct 2024

New Jersey’s minimum wage for most workers will increase to $15.49 per hour beginning January 1, 2025.  This 36-cent increase over the current rate represents a cost-of-living adjustment to ensure minimum wage keeps pace with the rate of inflation, as required by the state Constitution.  

Sep 2024

New Jersey has enacted a new law that imposes civil penalties on employers who disclose or threaten to disclose an employee’s immigration status to authorities in order to conceal violations of state wage, benefit, or tax laws. These laws include NJ’s Prevailing Wage Act, Wage and Hour laws, Workers’ Compensation, and more. Employers found in violation may face penalties ranging from $1,000 to $10,000, depending on the severity and frequency of the violations. Employers have the right to request a hearing within 15 days of receiving a notice of violation.  EANJ Members can read more here.

Dec 2022

Minimum Wage

New Jersey’s minimum wage for most workers will increase to $14.13 per hour beginning January 1, 2023.  

Maximum Benefit Rates

The NJ Department of Labor has increased the maximum weekly benefits for claims filed in 2023:

Workers’ Compensation Rate: $1,099 per week

Temporary Disability Benefit Rate: $1,025 per week

Family Leave Insurance: $1,025 per week

Unemployment Compensation Rate: $830 per week.

Unemployment Penalties

Governor Murphy has signed new legislation aimed at expediting the speed at which unemployment claims are paid out.  The new law also imposes harsher penalties on employers who don’t provide information about jobless claims within seven days to the NJ Department of Labor – from $25 every 10 days to $500 daily.

Mar 2023

Employers face innumerable HR law challenges in a complex and changing workplace. Responding to EANJ member surveys and focus groups, the purpose of EANJ’s HR Risk Management Solution is to provide an individualized, comprehensive and coordinated support to employers by assessing the risks presented by current anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies and practices and to recommend alternatives to mitigate those risks. The risk assessment necessarily covers the employer’s current compliance with relevant HR laws, rules and other workplace policies and procedures.
 
Learn more here

Feb 2023

In 2022, U.S. employee engagement continued its fall, slipping to 32%, while 18% are actively disengaged. Active disengagement increased by two percentage points from 2021 and four points from 2020, according to Gallup.  Employee engagement is defined as the involvement and enthusiasm of employees in their work and workplace.

Gallup’s annual survey measures several workplace elements, including employees’ level of agreement about clarity of expectations, opportunities for development and their opinions counting at work. In short, engaged employees are involved in and enthusiastic about their work and workplace. Actively disengaged employees are disgruntled and disloyal because most of their workplace needs are unmet.

According to Gallup, the biggest obstacle to increasing employee engagement is that it is widely considered “an HR thing.” Employee engagement is not owned by executives, expected by managers nor understood by front-line employees.  What is HR’s role?  Here’s a start.

Sep 2022

The NJ Division on Civil Rights (DCR) has updated its employer posting requirements to allow for electronic posting of notices and to include an annual distribution component. 

Employers covered by the NJ Law Against Discrimination (LAD) and the NJ Family Leave Act (FLA) are required to display the official employment posters for each law in places easily visible to all employees and applicants for employment.  In  the event an employer has an internet or intranet site for use by its employee and to which all  employees have access, posting of the official DCR notices on the site will now satisfy the laws’ posting requirements.

Additionally, DCR will now require employers provide each employee with a written copy of the official employment poster annually, on or before December 31st of each year, and upon the first request of an employee.  It will be acceptable for the notification to be sent out via email; through printed material; or through an internet or intranet website provided the employer provides notice to the employees of its posting.  

Employers can find copies of the official posters, which are used for both posting and distributing, on DCR’s website.

Sep 2022

The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJ-CRC) is charged with prescribing standards for a Workplace Impairment Recognition Expert (WIRE) certification, to be issued to full- or part-time employees, or others contracted to perform services on behalf of an employer. In the absence of standards to date, NJ-CRC is permitting employers to designate an interim staff member or third party contractor to assist with making determinations of suspected cannabis use during an employee’s prescribed work hours.

Visit EANJ’s Employer Resource page for details.