A4278

An Act establishing services for reporting employer and employment service violations and supplementing Title 34 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. a. The commissioner shall establish, maintain, and prominently display on the department’s website, toll-free telephone hotline and electronic mail services for reporting of violations by employers and employment services of laws, including, but not limited to:

(1) the State wage and hour laws, including article 1 of chapter 11 of Title 34 of the Revised Statutes and all acts supplementing that article (R.S.34:11-2 et al.), P.L.1966, c.113 and all acts supplementing that act (C.34:11-56a et al.), and article 3 of chapter 11 of Title 34 of the Revised Statutes (R.S.34:11-57 et seq.);

(2) the “New Jersey Prevailing Wage Act,” P.L.1963, c.150 (C.34:11-56.25 et seq.); and

(3) the "Law Against Discrimination," P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-1 et seq.).

The services shall assist in the reporting of criminal or other violations, and may refer matters to other State agencies when appropriate. The services shall also assist in connecting workers to appropriate agencies within the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the United States Department of Labor, or other government agency that may assist any worker to claim a benefit.

b. The commissioner shall include among the staff persons for the services persons who speak English and Spanish, as well as persons fluent in any other language that the commissioner determines is the first language of a significant number of workers in the State.

c. The commissioner shall establish procedures for anonymous reporting to the reporting services of violations by employers and employment services.

2. a. Every employer and employment service in this State shall conspicuously post notification, in a place or places accessible to all workers in each of the employer’s workplaces or the employment service’s locations, in a form issued by regulation promulgated by the commissioner, giving a brief summary of workers’ rights in the State, and notifying the workers of the reporting services established pursuant to section 1 of this act. In the case of a temporary help service firm providing workers with transportation services to get to or return from the site of work, the notification shall be conspicuously posted in the transportation, as well as at the physical location of the temporary help service firm.

b. The employer or employment service shall provide each worker of the employer, including any individual placed by a temporary help services firm, with a written copy of the notification:

(1) not later than 30 days after the form of the notification is issued by the commissioner;

(2) at the time of the worker’s hiring or placement, if the worker is hired or placed after the issuance;

(3) annually, on or before December 31 of each year, if the worker is an ongoing employee or placement of the employer or employment service; and

(4) at any time, upon the first request of the worker.

c. The employer or employment service shall make the written copy of the notification available to each worker via printed material, including, but not limited to, a pay check insert, brochure, or similar informational packet provided to new hires or placements.

The notification provided by the employer or employment service pursuant to this section shall contain an acknowledgement that the worker has received the notification and has read and understands its terms. The acknowledgement shall be signed by the worker, in writing or by means of electronic verification, and returned to the employer or employment service within 30 days of its receipt.

d. The commissioner shall make the notification required by this section available in English, Spanish, and any other language that the commissioner determines is the first language of a significant number of workers in the State. The employer or employment service shall post and provide the notification in English, Spanish, and any other language for which the commissioner has made the notification available and which the employer or employment service reasonably believes is the first language of a significant number of workers in the employer’s or employment service’s workforce.

e. The notification required pursuant to this act shall be in addition to any other notifications required pursuant to law or regulation. The commissioner shall update any employer notifications required pursuant to current law or regulation to include the toll-free telephone hotline and electronic mail service contact information created pursuant to this act.

f. As used in this act, “employment service” means an employee leasing company licensed pursuant to P.L.2001, c.260 (C.34:8-67 et seq.), a temporary help service firm required to comply with the provisions of P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.), or an employment agency regulated pursuant to P.L.1989, c.331 (C.34:8-43 et seq.).

3. It shall be an unlawful practice for an employer or employment service to violate any provisions of section 2 of this act, or take adverse action against an employee or placement in retaliation for the worker’s use of the services established pursuant to this act. An employer or employment service that violates the provisions of section 2 of this act or retaliates against a worker shall be liable to a civil penalty of not less than $1,000 for the first violation, not less than $1,500 for the second violation, and not less than $2,000 for the third and each subsequent violation. The civil penalty shall be collected pursuant to the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.), in a summary proceeding before the municipal court having jurisdiction. An agent of the Attorney General or the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development, or a local law enforcement officer having enforcement authority in the municipality may issue a summons for a violation of the provisions of section 2 of this act, and may serve and execute all process with respect to the enforcement of this section consistent with the Rules of Court of the State of New Jersey. A penalty recovered under the provisions of this section shall be recovered by and in the name of the State.

4. This act shall take effect immediately, except that section 2 shall take effect only after the commissioner has promulgated the regulations and created the notification forms necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.

STATEMENT

This bill establishes services for reporting employer and employment service violations and requires employers to post certain notifications informing employees of that service.

The bill requires the commissioner to establish, maintain, and prominently display on the department’s website, toll-free telephone hotline and electronic mail services for reporting of violations by employers and employment services of laws, including, but not limited to, the State wage and hour laws, the “New Jersey Prevailing Wage Act,” and the "Law Against Discrimination."

The reporting services are to assist in the reporting of criminal or other violations, and may refer matters to other State agencies when necessary. The services will also assist in connecting workers to appropriate agencies within the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the United States Department of Labor, or other government agency that may assist any worker to claim a benefit.

The bill directs the commissioner to include among the staff persons for the services persons who speak English and Spanish, as well as persons fluent in any other language that the commissioner determines is the first language of a significant number of workers in the State.

The commissioner is also directed to establish procedures for anonymous reporting to the reporting services of violations by employers and employment services.

The bill requires every employer and employment service in this State to conspicuously post notification, in a place or places accessible to all workers in each of the employer’s or employment service’s workplaces, in a form issued by regulation promulgated by the commissioner, giving a brief summary of workers’ rights in the State, and notifying the workers of the reporting services established pursuant to the bill. In the case of a temporary help service firm providing workers with transportation services to get to or return from the site of work, the notification must be conspicuously posted in the transportation, as well as at the physical location of the temporary help service firm.

The employer or employment service is required to provide each worker of the employer with a written copy of the notification:

(1) not later than 30 days after the form of the notification is issued by the commissioner;

(2) at the time of the worker’s hiring or placement, if the worker is hired or placed after the issuance;

(3) annually, on or before December 31 of each year, if the worker is an ongoing employee or placement of the employer or employment service; and

(4) at any time, upon the first request of the worker.

The employer or employment service must make the written copy of the notification available to each worker via printed material, including, but not limited to, a pay check insert, brochure, or similar informational packet provided to new hires or placements.

The notification provided by the employer or employment service must contain an acknowledgement that the worker has received the notification and has read and understands its terms. The acknowledgement must be signed by the worker, in writing or by means of electronic verification, and returned to the employer or employment service within 30 days of its receipt.

The bill requires the commissioner to make the notification available in English, Spanish, and any other language that the commissioner determines is the first language of a significant number of workers in the State. Employers must post and provide the notification in English, Spanish, and any other language for which the commissioner has made the notification available and which an employer or employment service reasonably believes is the first language of a significant number of workers in the employer’s workforce.

The notification required pursuant to the bill is to be in addition to any other notifications required pursuant to law or regulation. The commissioner will update any employer notifications required pursuant to current law or regulation to include the toll-free telephone hotline and electronic mail service contact information.

The bill provides it is an unlawful practice for an employer or employment service to violate its provisions or take adverse action against an employee or placement in retaliation for the worker’s use of the services established pursuant to the bill. An employer or employment service that violates the provisions bill or retaliates against a worker is liable to a civil penalty of not less than $1,000 for the first violation, not less than $1,500 for the second violation, and not less than $2,000 for the third and each subsequent violation.