New Jersey Pay Transparency Law

(Updated May 7, 2026)

New Jersey’s Pay Transparency Law went into effect on June 1, 2025. Department of Labor (NJDOL) Rules implementing the Law have been proposed and are instructive, but they have not yet been adopted and are currently non-binding.

The Pay Transparency Law requires a covered employer to disclose in each external and internal post or advertisement for a new job or transfer opportunity the hourly 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 employee would be eligible. The law does not prohibit a covered employer from increasing the wages, benefits, and compensation identified in the posting when making an offer for employment to an applicant.

The Law also requires covered employers to make reasonable efforts to announce, post, or otherwise make known to current employees any opportunities for promotion in their departments prior to making a promotion decision. This requirement does not apply to promotions of current employees based on years of experience or performance. Nor does it prohibit a covered employer from promoting a current employee on an emergent basis due to an unforeseen event.

Which employers are covered under the Pay Transparency Law?

The NJ Pay Transparency Law broadly defines “employer” as any person, company, corporation, firm, labor organization, or association which has 10 or more employees over 20 calendar weeks and:

1) does business in NJ, or

2) employs persons in NJ, or

3) takes applications for employment within NJ.

The Rules clarify that the Law applies whether ten employees work inside or outside New Jersey, so long as the employer either does business or takes applications for employment within New Jersey. According to the Rules, to “take applications for employment within New Jersey” means both that the solicitation occurred in New Jersey and the physical location of the prospective employment is in whole, or in substantial part, within New Jersey.

The term "employer" includes the State, any county or municipality, or any instrumentality thereof. The definition of “employer” also includes job placement, referral agencies and other employment agencies.

Temporary help service firms or consulting firms registered with the Division of Consumer Affairs must provide pay and benefits information to an applicant for temporary employment during the interview or when they are hired for a specific job opening. They are not required to disclose this information in postings meant to identify qualified applicants for potential future job openings.

What pay information must be included in a new job or transfer opportunity posting?

Under the Pay Transparency law, the posting for a new job or transfer opportunity can include the exact hourly wage or salary, or a range of the hourly wage or salary being offered.

• The proposed Rules clarify that any pay range must include a minimum and maximum wage (e.g. offering “$25 per hour and up” or “up to $35 per hour” is not permissible).

  
  

• The Rules prohibit a pay range where the spread between the minimum and maximum pay is more than 60% of the pay range minimum. For example, an employer should avoid a pay range of “$100,000 to $165,000 a year,” since the spread between the minimum pay and top end of the pay range ($65,000) is 65% of the minimum ($100,000). Offering a range of $95,000 to $115,000 per year complies with the Rules because the spread between the minimum and top end of the pay range is less than 60% of the pay range minimum.

  
  

What benefits and other compensation information must be included?

Posts for new job or transfer opportunities must include a general description of the benefits and other compensation programs offered. Under the proposed Rules, “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

• Retirement benefits and/or pension benefits.

  
  

Job postings may not use phrases such as “great benefits offered,” or “health insurance and more.”

The phrase “other compensation programs” means methods of compensation other than the payment of traditional wages, including but not limited to, commissions, bonuses and profit-sharing.

Can employees or applicants sue covered employers for violations?

The Pay Transparency Law does not permit an employee or job applicant to sue a covered employer for damages in a Court of law, but they can file a complaint with the NJDOL. Only the New Jersey Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development has enforcement authority. That said, an employee may have claim under NJ’s Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act which prohibits employers from paying wages to a member of a protected class at a rate of compensation/ benefits that is less than the rate paid to employees who are not members of the protected class for substantially similar work. Protected classes under NJ’s Law Against Discrimination (LAD) include sex, race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy, breast feeding, gender identity or expression, disability, marital status or domestic partnership/civil union status, military service, atypical hereditary cellular or blood trait, genetic information, or refusal to submit to or make available a genetic test. An employee might also bring a Conscientious Employee Protection Act (whistleblower) claim if that employee believes the employer retaliated against them for reporting non-compliance with the Pay Transparency Law or violations of the Equal Pay Act and/or LAD.

What are the penalties for violating the Pay Transparency Law? 

A covered employer who violates the New Jersey Pay Transparency Law is subject to a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $300 for the first violation, and $600 for each subsequent violation. Failure to comply with the Law for a single promotion, job opening or transfer opportunity will be considered one violation, even if that opportunity is posted or listed multiple times through multiple means.

Next steps for covered employers?

The NJDOL recommends on its website that covered employers follow the proposed Rules until the final regulations are issued.

• Review compensation, pay ranges and benefits for all positions. Review internal promotion procedures. Take a hard look at your policies for determining wages/salaries and promotions. Identify wage and other disparities that might indicate decisions and patterns based on a protected class. Make needed adjustments. Develop a process to consistently review and update job descriptions, compensation, pay ranges and benefits.

• Review and revise existing job postings and your job advertisement templates (for external and internal postings), for pay ranges, benefits and other compensation. Contact recruiters and other outside service providers handling the advertising of positions to ensure compliance with the Act.

• Train appropriate personnel on pay equity and Pay Transparency Law compliance.

  
  

Pay disparities cause low morale, the loss of good employees and lawsuits by employees who believe they are being paid less because of their gender, race or some other protected class. We can help you avoid these costly problems and create a more positive, productive workplace. Working with an attorney on each of the above steps means much of the process will be covered by the attorney-client privilege.

For more information about the New Jersey Pay Transparency Law, contact Audra Schwartz at aschwartz@felliglaw.com or call 201-996-0074.