On January 26, 2009, the “New Jersey Jobs Protection Act” (A3675) was introduced and referred to the Assembly Labor Committee. The proposed legislation seeks to punish any New Jersey employer that intentionally or knowingly employs an unauthorized alien. This bill is similar in several regards to a bill (A3289) introduced last October, and discussed in the November 2008 issue of the New Jersey eAuthority.
Under the new bill, for a first violation, an employer would be subject to: an order to terminate the employment of all unauthorized aliens; a three-year probationary period during which time the employer is required to file quarterly reports with the county prosecutor; and a $10,000 penalty for each unauthorized alien employed by the employer at the time of the complaint. A second violation carries an additional five-year probationary period and a $20,000 penalty per unauthorized alien; and a third violation carries a $30,000 penalty for each unauthorized alien hired during that period.
Although both the current bill (A3675) and the prior bill (A3289) contain very similar remedial provisions, a major difference between the two is that unlike the prior bill, the New Jersey Jobs Protection Act does not vest courts with the authority to suspend an employer’s license for repeated violations.
Note: This article was published in the February 2009 issue of the New Jersey eAuthority.
