On Friday, November 4, 2011, the NJDOL issued a new six-page notice/poster that employers must 1) distribute to all employees and 2) post conspicuously in accessible locations. To view a copy of the notice/poster, MW-400 (11/11), click here. The new notice/poster is in accordance with the requirements of a 2009 statute, P.L. 2009, c. 194, relating to the maintenance and reporting of employment records.
Employers have until December 7, 2011, to post the notice and distribute it to current employees. However, employers must immediately provide the notice to all new employees hired on November 7, 2011, or thereafter.
The content of the notice tracks and consolidates the record-keeping requirements presently contained in eight statutes: the Wage Payment Law, the Wage and Hour Law, the Prevailing Wage Act, the Unemployment Compensation Law, the Temporary Disability Benefits Law, the Family Leave Insurance Benefits Law, the Workers’ Compensation Law, and the Gross Income Tax Act. The notice concludes with a page setting forth contact information for employees to contact state representatives to provide information or file a complaint regarding an employer’s failure to meet the requirements of these statutes.
Adopting a recommendation from Ogletree Deakins, the NJDOL specified in accompanying regulations that, where an employer has an Internet or intranet site for exclusive use by its employees and to which all employees have access, posting of the notice on the employer’s Internet or intranet site will satisfy the conspicuous posting requirement. Similarly, providing the notice via email satisfies the requirement to provide each employee a written copy of the notification.
Employers should take steps immediately to ensure that: 1) beginning November 7, 2011, all new hires receive a copy of the notice; 2) all current employees receive a copy of the notice by no later than December 7, 2011; and 3) the notices are posted conspicuously in places accessible to all employees in each of the employer’s work sites by December 7, 2011. Failure to comply with the posting and notice requirements could lead to a fine of up to $1,000, as well as criminal penalties.
