New Jersey’s Pay Transparency Law: Legal Requirements and Areas of Confusion

As of June 1, 2025, New Jersey is imposing significant pay transparency requirements on employers.  The law mandates that employers disclose compensation and benefits information in job postings and provide notice of promotional opportunities to current employees.

Key Requirements:

1. Covered Employers

The law applies to any employer, including job placement and referral agencies, with 10 or more employees over 20 calendar weeks and which does business, employs persons, or takes applications for employment within New Jersey.

The law does not specify whether the 10-employee minimum includes employees located outside of New Jersey. Given the law’s broad language, employers should consider the possibility that employees, including those working remotely, in  other states might be included in the count.

2. Salary and Benefits Disclosure in Job Postings

Employers with 10 or more employees over 20 calendar weeks must include the following in each internal and external job posting for new positions and transfer opportunities:

• The hourly wage or salary, or a range of the hourly wage or salary;
• A general description of benefits and other compensation programs; and
• Any other compensation programs for which the employee will be eligible.

The law does allow employers to increase the wages, benefits, and compensation identified in the job posting at the time of making an offer for employment to an applicant.

3. Promotion Opportunity Notification

Employers must make reasonable efforts to notify current employees in the affected department(s) of the employer’s business about promotional opportunities prior to making a promotion decision. The statute defines promotion as a change in job title and an increase in compensation.  This requirement broadly applies to all internet-based postings, printed flyers, and other similar advertisements.

However, the following promotions are exempt from the notification requirement:

• Promotions awarded based on years of experience or performance are exempt from the announcement requirement.
• Promotions made on an emergent basis due to an unforeseen event are also exempt.

4. Penalties for Non-Compliance

The Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development is authorized to enforce the provisions of this law by imposing civil penalties:

• Up to $300 for the first violation.
• Up to $600 for each subsequent violation.

All failures to post the required information for a given job opening or promotional opportunity shall be treated as a single violation, even if the job opening or promotional opportunity is posted on multiple forums.

5. Temporary Help Service and Consulting Firm Exception

Temporary help service firms and consulting firms registered with the Division of Consumer Affairs are not required to comply with the law for postings seeking qualified candidates and those that aren’t tied to a particular position. However, they must provide this information during the interview or when a candidate is hired for a specific job opening.

Confusion Resulting from Pay Transparency Laws

Pay transparency laws enacted in other jurisdictions have frequently led to confusion among applicants and employees.  Employers should take care to avoid any miscommunications which can lead to employees filing complaints.

For example, seasoned human resources professionals will know that a salary range covers the entirety of a position including steps within the range, and that employees are almost always hired with an initial salary towards the bottom of the range. Unfortunately, many job seekers mistakenly assume the listed salary range reflects what will be offered upon hire.

For example, a posting might list $60,000 to $95,000 as the salary range. An applicant with minimal experience might expect an offer near $95,000, only to receive $62,000 – leading to disappointment or a perception of unfairness.

Additionally, existing employees may see public salary ranges posted for their roles and incorrectly believe their own compensation is unfair or not competitive, not realizing that the top of the range might reflect exceptional performance or tenure.

Action Items:

Employers should take proactive steps to ensure compliance with the new law:

• Review and Update Template Job Postings: Ensure that all job postings include the required salary ranges and descriptions of benefits and other compensation programs and clearly identify the salary ranges as for the full range of the position and not for initial hiring.
• Develop Promotion Notification Procedures: Establish and document procedures for announcing promotion opportunities to all current employees in the affected department(s).
• Audit Compensation Practices: Conduct regular audits of compensation practices to identify and address any disparities.
• Train Human Resources Personnel: Provide training to HR staff and hiring managers on the new requirements and best practices for compliance.

Rimon attorneys Christopher Kelly and Tara Humma regularly advise clients on wage and hour issues, handle audits by state and Federal Departments of Labor, and litigate single plaintiff, collective action and class action wage and hour matters.  Please reach out to us if we can assist you with any wage and hour maters.

This summary is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice nor does it create an attorney-client relationship with Rimon, P.C. or its affiliates.

Chris Kelly has extensive experience representing both public and private employers. He regularly litigates complex employment matters, including discrimination, restrictive covenant, employee raiding/mobility, and employment-related trade secret matters in state and federal courts across the country. He also represents clients in state and federal wage and hour audits, conducts employment-related due diligence in mergers and acquisitions, assists clients in handling reductions in force, represents management in grievance arbitrations, conducts internal investigations, drafts uniform employment policies for employers on training, leave, and other requirements of multiple states, and drafts physician and executive compensation agreements. Read more here.

Tara Humma is a Litigation attorney who focuses her practice on labor and employment matters. Tara has over a decade of experience representing public and private employers of all sizes in states across the country. Tara represents clients in all phases of employment litigation, from initial pleadings, discovery, and motion practice to trial preparation and appeals. Her experience includes a broad range of litigation matters including, but not limited to, claims brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (including accessibility cases), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), breach of contract cases related to employment contracts and restrictive covenants and various other state and federal employment laws. Read more here.