Mandatory, Conspicuous Notification Required Immediately

For those employers that have not already done so, they are required to post the six-page, state-issued notice on their employee bulletin boards today.

New Jersey employers are required to post the six-page notice titled "Employer Obligation to Maintain and Report Records" immediately. Employers are also expected to distribute the notice to all current employees by December 7, 2011, and to all new employees at the time of hire. The purpose of the notice is to inform employees of their employers' obligation to maintain and report certain records required under the various New Jersey employment statutes delineated in the notice. The notice outlines the requisite recordkeeping and reporting requirements under New Jersey's Wage Payment Law, Wage and Hour Law, Prevailing Wage Act, Unemployment Compensation Law, Temporary Disability Benefits Law, Family Leave Insurance Benefits Law, Workers' Compensation Law, and Gross Income Tax Act. The last page of the notice contains contact information for divisions within the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development and the New Jersey Department of the Treasury. Employees may contact such entities to file a complaint about employer noncompliance with the recordkeeping and reporting requirements specified in the notice. Employers may not discharge or discriminate against an employee who submits an inquiry or files a complaint internally with the employer or externally with one of the aforementioned state departments regarding a violation of the recordkeeping and reporting requirements contained in the notice.

What This Means for New Jersey Employers: For those employers that have not already done so, they are required to post the six-page, state-issued notice on their employee bulletin boards today. If company policies and procedures are accessible electronically, employers should post the required notice in their electronic database of employer policies and should advise employees of the existence of the policy upon doing so. For workers who do not have email access, employers should distribute the notice to managers for dissemination to staff immediately. Failure to comply with this proclamation from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development could subject an employer convicted of such a violation to a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000.

For Further Information

If you have any questions about the attached notice or your recordkeeping and reporting requirements as a New Jersey employer, please contact any member of our Employment, Labor, Benefits and Immigration Practice Group or the attorney in the firm with whom you are regularly in contact.

Disclaimer: This Alert has been prepared and published for informational purposes only and is not offered, nor should be construed, as legal advice. For more information, please see the firm's full disclaimer.