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Bill > A281


NJ A281

NJ A281
Expands wage and hour law good-faith violation defense to DOLWD employee interpretations; establishes procedure for employer to obtain opinion from DOLWD on overtime obligations.


summary

Introduced
01/11/2022
In Committee
06/02/2022
Crossed Over
05/26/2022
Passed
Dead
01/08/2024

Introduced Session

2022-2023 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" defense against violations of the New Jersey State Wage and Hour Law to include interpretations or rulings 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. It also establishes a procedure for employers to request and obtain a written opinion or ruling from the Department of Labor and Workforce Development on their overtime obligations under the law. This is in response to a court case that found a violation could not be excused under the "good faith" defense because the corrective ruling was made by a department employee, not the Commissioner or Director.

Committee Categories

Labor and Employment

Sponsors (2)

Last Action

Senate Labor Hearing (10:00 12/1/2022 Committee Room 6, 1st Floor, State House Annex, Trenton, NJ) (on 12/01/2022)

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