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2025 was another active year in New Jersey in the employment sphere. We recap below significant developments New Jersey employers should take note of.
Pay Transparency. As of June 1, 2025, pursuant to Senate Bill 2310, New Jersey employers that have 10 or more employees over 20 calendar weeks which are doing business or taking applications for employment must disclose hourly wage or annual salary range and general benefit information in all job postings for new positions or transfer opportunities. Also, employers will be required to announce promotion opportunities to all current employees in the affected department prior to making a promotion decision. Some exceptions exist, such as when promotions are awarded based on years of experience.
Remote Workers. The New Jersey Division on Civil Rights (DCR) issued guidance on existing legal requirements applicable to workers employed by companies operating from New Jersey who reside and work outside the state. The DCR explains that the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) protects all employees who work for a New Jersey employer "regardless of their residency or where they physically work, including those who work remotely full-time or part-time on a hybrid schedule." Although the LAD does not address this issue, and courts have not yet fully embraced this rationale, employers should be aware of the DCR's position to the extent it may impact potential liability under the LAD in the future.
Guidance Concerning Artificial Intelligence. The DCR issued guidance concerning the application of the LAD to AI. The guidance suggests that employers can be held liable under the LAD when the alleged discrimination resulted from the use of AI decision-making tools. Claims of algorithmic discrimination are assessed the same way as a standard LAD claim.
Additionally, the DCR announced the creation of a new Civil Rights Innovation Lab, which will develop blueprints for employers to deploy AI-powered tools and educate the public about their rights under the law when Large Language Model AI tools are used.
Commissions are Wages. On March 17, 2025, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in Musker v. Suuchi, Inc., 260 N.J. 178, 331 A.3d 900 (2025), that commissions are wages under the New Jersey Wage Payment Law ("WPL"). The Court based this ruling on the plain language of the statute and found that wages are "direct monetary compensation for labor or services rendered by an employee." The Court focused on the WPL's definition of "wages" as "direct monetary compensation for labor or services rendered by an employee, where the amount is determined on a time, task, piece, or commission basis" but "excluding any form of supplementary incentives and bonuses." N.J.S.A. 34:11-4.1(c). Further, "because a commission directly compensates an employee for performing a service, it always meets the definition of 'wages' under N.J.S.A. 34:11-4.1(c) as 'direct monetary compensation' for 'labor or services' rendered by an employee."
This is a potent warning for employers that pay commissions, as liability under the WPL for failure to pay wages, including commissions, enables employees to recover 200% of unpaid wages as liquidated damages, attorneys' fees and costs. N.J.S.A. 34:11-4.10(c).
Minimum Wage Increase. The New Jersey the minimum wage increased to $15.92 per hour effective January 1, 2026.
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