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Bill > A3926


NJ A3926

NJ A3926
Expands wage and hour law good-faith violation defense to DOLWD employee interpretations.


summary

Introduced
04/13/2020
In Committee
04/13/2020
Crossed Over
Passed
Dead
01/11/2022

Introduced Session

2020-2021 Regular Session

Bill Summary

This bill provides that the good faith defense against violations of the "New Jersey State Wage and Hour Law" based on an administrative regulation, ruling, approval, or interpretation by the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development or the Director of the Division of Wage and Hour Compliance be expanded to include regulations, rulings, approval, or interpretation by the authorized representatives of the commissioner or director. Current law only provides the good faith defense for decisions made by the commissioner or the director themselves. For the purposes of this section, "authorized representative" means an employee of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development or the Division of Wage and Hour Compliance, as appropriate, operating within the scope of his or her normal responsibilities. This bill is in response to the issues raised by Branch v. Cream-O-Land Dairy, 459 N.J. Super. 529 (App. Div. 2019) concerning a violation of the law that was upheld as a violation because the corrective ruling which the violator sought regarding compliance was made by an employee of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, and not the commissioner.

AI Summary

This bill expands the good-faith violation defense against the New Jersey State Wage and Hour Law to include regulations, rulings, approvals, or interpretations made by authorized representatives of the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development or the Director of the Division of Wage and Hour Compliance, not just the commissioner or director themselves. This change is in response to a court decision (Branch v. Cream-O-Land Dairy) that upheld a violation of the law because the corrective ruling that the violator sought was made by a department employee, not the commissioner.

Committee Categories

Labor and Employment

Sponsors (2)

Last Action

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Labor Committee (on 04/13/2020)

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