December 12, 2025

By Ty Hyderally, Esq., Kenny Delgado

The New Jersey Pay Transparency Act which took effect on June 1, 2025, is a step forward in New Jersey’s efforts to remain of the strongest states to advocate for the protection of workers’ rights in the country. In order to provide more clarity on the new law, the New Jersey Department of Labor proposed rules that will clarify the standards of the law and provide guidance to workers and employers.

Promotions:

The proposed rules include guidance for promotions. The rules clarify that an employer must make reasonable efforts to announce the opportunity for promotion. The Rule then further states what the phrase “Reasonable Efforts” shall mean:

1. Conspicuously posting notification of the promotional opportunity in a place(s) within the employer’s workplace(s) that is/are accessible to all employees in the department(s) of the employer to which the promotional opportunity is open; and

2. In the event the employer has an internet site or intranet site for exclusive use by its employees and to which all employees have access, posting notification of the promotional opportunity on the employer’s internet site or intranet site. Proposed Rule 57 N.J. R. 2220(a)

Job Posting:

Similarly, the proposed rules clearly articulates the scope of the responsibility an employer has when presenting job opportunities and how they must present this information in order to avoid violations of the new law.

Under the clarification, job postings must clearly state a rate of pay. This can be done in two ways: providing the exact hourly rate wage or salary that is being offered; providing a range of the hourly wage or the salary that is being offered.

Should the employer choose to include a range of hourly rate of pay or salary, the range spread must include a percentage of the maximum hourly wage that is being offered or a percentage of the maximum salary that is being offered with the calculation provided with specificity.  Employers can no longer use such language as “$60,000 and up” to be in compliance with the regulation.  Such open-ended language is prohibited.  The Rule also states that a general description of the benefits and other compensation programs must also be included in the job posting. The rules then include clarifications on what qualifies as fringe benefits. The rule clarifies that fringe benefits include health insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, paid time off, and pension payments.

The rules also clarify when an employer is responsible for ensuring that a posting on a third party site is compliant with the Act.  The rules clarifies that employers do not escape responsibility under the act as long as they provide the information to be disseminated to the public or if the employer hires the third-party advertiser as an agent in efforts to fill an open employment position. The employer must ensure that advertisements of its open position are compliant with the statute as if they were posting it themselves. However, if the third-party site aggregates the information from outside sources and posts it without direct involvement of the employer, then the employer is not responsible for the content and cannot be assessed for violations of the Act. Proposed Rule 57 N.J. R. 2220(a)

Administrative Relief

With this law in place, New Jersey hopes to remain a strong state for workers’ rights and a place where workers believe they can seek justice. Complaints under this Act are made to the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Although the New Jersey Pay Transparency Act, only provides relief through administrative penalties a violation may trigger a violation of other statutes such as the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, New Jersey Wage and Hour Law, and/or Conscientious Employee Protection Act.

If you feel that you are the target of discrimination, harassment, whistleblower retaliation, or some other issue in the workplace, or if you have any questions regarding your rights as an employee, you should seek out an experienced attorney who concentrates in employment law. Our firm has been concentrating in employment law for over twenty-two (22) years!

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