On September 21, 2012, Governor Christie signed P.L. 2012, c. 57, which mandates yet another poster in NJ break rooms. Under the new law, employers with 50 or more workers must not only post, but also annually distribute and get signed acknowledgements for, a notice “detailing the right to be free of gender inequity or bias in pay, compensation, benefits or other terms or conditions of employment” under NJ and feeraal laws. The NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development will issue the new notice in English, Spanish, and perhaps additional languages, in new regulations.
The notice must be given:
- to current employees within 30 days of LWD’s issuance of the approved form of notice;
- thereafter, once a year;
- to new employees when hired;
- to any employee upon request;
and may be distributed by:
- email;
- company internet or intranet site;
- written document, such as pay check insert, flyer, or attachement to employee manual.
Unique among NJ’s posting/notice laws, the new statute requries employers to get a signed acknowledgement from each employee that s/he has read and understood the notice.
But don’t start rearranging the bulletin board quite yet. The LWD cautions that the regulatory process to develop the new poster will take several months. You can read the LWD bulletin on the new poster here.
We’ll be following the develoment of the new poster and will bring you updates as they happen.
