27 Jan New Jersey Employer Obligations Under New Jersey Dept. of Labor Gender Equity Notice
By: Derek J. Famulari
As of January 6, 2014, a long-awaited gender equity notice and accompanying regulations was published by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL).
The purpose of the gender equity notice is to inform employees of existing rights under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Pay Act.
So what does this mean for New Jersey employers and how does it affect them?
The new regulations affect employers in New Jersey which have a total of 50 or more employees, whether those employees work inside or outside of New Jersey. Under the new regulations, these “covered employers” must conspicuously post the gender equity notice in a place or places accessible to all employees in each of the employer’s workplaces.
On or before February 5, 2014, for each employee of a covered employer who was hired on or before January 6, 2014, the covered employer must provide each employee with a copy of the gender equity notice accompanied by an acknowledgement, indicating that the employee received the notice, read the notice, and understands its terms, which must be signed by the employee and returned within 30 days of its receipt. In terms of employees hired after January 6, 2014, the covered employer must provide that employee with a written copy of the gender equity notice at the time of the employee’s hiring.
Furthermore, covered employers must provide each employee with a written copy of the gender equity notice upon first request of the employee, as well as annually provide each employee a written copy of the gender equity notice on or before December 31 of each year.
While penalties for failure to comply with the gender equity notice have not been specified, covered employers can be certain that repercussions may come in the form of fines and penalties for noncompliance with the NJDOL’s notice requirements.