Employers that desire to submit public comments to the proposed regulations must do so by November 14, 2025.
The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) has issued proposed regulations to implement the New Jersey Pay Transparency Act (PTA), which went into effect on June 1, 2025. The NJDOL recommends that employers follow the proposed regulations pending the issuance of final regulations. The proposed rules provide instruction and guidance to employers on how to comply with the PTA. Employers that desire to submit public comments to the proposed regulations must do so by November 14, 2025.
The PTA requires compensation transparency for new job postings, as well as promotional opportunities. The law requires employers to disclose salary or wage ranges and benefits in job postings and mandates that employers make reasonable efforts to notify current employees of promotional opportunities. For more information on the PTA, please see our previous Alert.
Who Is a Covered Employer Under the PTA?
The proposed rules address one of the open issues we identified in our prior Alert and confirm what we anticipated: the PTA applies to all employers with 10 or more total employees anywhere, not just those with 10 employees in New Jersey, so long as the employer does business, employs persons or accepts applications from workers within the state. The proposed regulations explain that taking applications in New Jersey means both that the solicitation occurred in New Jersey and that the physical location of the prospective employment is entirely or substantially within New Jersey.
What Are the Posting Requirements for New Jobs or Transfers?
For any advertised new job or transfer (internal or external), the employer must include at minimum:
- The exact hourly rate wage or salary; or
- A range of the hourly wage or salary; and
- A general description of benefits and other compensation programs for which the applicant would be eligible.
The proposed regulations provide some insight on setting a compensation range. If employers chose to provide a pay range, the spread between the minimum and maximum compensation cannot exceed 60 percent of the minimum pay (e.g., $100,000 to $160,000—not $100,000 to $165,000). Ranges must have a lower and upper limit, meaning there is a ceiling and a floor (e.g., $60,000 to $75,000—not $60,000 and up). The proposed rules reaffirm that, when making an offer of employment to an applicant, an employer has flexibility to increase the wages, benefits and compensation that were identified in the new job or transfer opportunity notification.
“Benefits” mean employee fringe benefits including, but not limited to, health insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, paid time off (including vacation, holidays, personal leave and sick leave), training and pension.
How Should a Covered Employer Notify Existing Employees of Opportunities for Promotion?
The PTA requires employers to use “reasonable efforts” to announce or post the opportunity to all employees in the department(s) to which it is open. The proposed regulations shed light on what constitutes “reasonable efforts.” Reasonable efforts include conspicuous posting at workplace sites accessible to employees and, where available, posting on employer intranet/employee‑accessible platforms to which all employees have access.
These notification requirements do not apply to promotions awarded strictly based on years of experience or performance or promotions made on an emergency basis due to unforeseen events.
What If the Employer Uses a Third Party to Post Job Openings?
The proposed regulations explain when employers may be liable for noncompliant postings made on third-party websites. Employers are responsible for the content on third-party job sites if the employer controls or has contractually relinquished control over the content of the job posting/help wanted ad. In other words, if an employer engages a third party to advertise its job postings, the employer is liable for the content of those ads. Employers are not liable, however, for the content of postings by third-party internet sites that collect and aggregate job postings without the involvement of the employer.
Under the proposed regulations, an employer can meet its obligations by using a hyperlink on third-party job sites, so long as the primary advertisement indicates the employer’s name, the job title of the position and its location, and the link sends prospects directly to a site containing the required compensation and benefits information.
What Are the Rules for Temporary Help Service Firms and Consulting Firms?
When advertisements are for future or speculative job openings (not existing openings), temporary help and consulting firms are exempt from disclosing pay/benefits in postings for such future or possible positions. However, at the time of interview or hire for a specific opening, the temporary help and consulting firms must provide the applicable wage, benefits and compensation information to the candidate.
How Will the PTA Be Enforced?
The proposed regulations confirm that there is no private right of action under the PTA, meaning individual employees and applicants cannot sue employers in court for violations of the PTA. Rather, the NJDOL Commissioner will enforce the law and may impose penalties of up to $300 for the first violation and up to $600 for each subsequent violation. The proposed regulations clarify that a “single failure” that covers multiple posts for the same position/promotion will count as one violation.
In assessing penalties, the Commissioner will consider factors such as seriousness, prior violations, good faith, size of business and any “other factors which the Commissioner deems appropriate.” Employers will have the right to request a formal hearing and appeal decisions from the hearing to the New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division.
What Does This Mean for Employers?
Although these are proposed rules that have yet to be enacted, employers that do business, employ people or take applications in New Jersey should take heed that the proposed rules are instructive on how the NJDOL will enforce the PTA.
Employers should evaluate their job posting and promotion procedures for compliance with the new rules and should focus on: (1) how and where job opportunities are announced; (2) ensuring pay and benefits transparency in new job postings and notices regarding opportunities for promotions; and (3) reviewing terms of agreements with third‑party posting platforms and overseeing postings made by third parties retained by the employer.
Employers and other stakeholders with specific concerns about the proposed regulations should submit comments to the NJDOL by November 14, 2025. Stay tuned for more updates.
For More Information
If you have any questions about this Alert, please contact Kathleen O'Malley, Danielle M. Dwyer, any of the attorneys in our Employment, Labor, Benefits and Immigration Practice Group or the attorney in the firm with whom you are regularly in contact.
Disclaimer: This Alert has been prepared and published for informational purposes only and is not offered, nor should be construed, as legal advice. For more information, please see the firm's full disclaimer.