Among the 153 bills Governor Phil Murphy signed into law on January 21, 2020 was Senate Bill 1791, which amends the New Jersey Wage Payment Law (WPL) to require employers to provide additional information on employees’ wage statements.
Previously, the WPL required employers to provide employees with a statement of deductions only. Under the revised law, employers (including public employers) with 10 or more employees must also include the following information on wage statements:
- gross wages;
- net wages;
- rate of pay; and
- the number of hours worked during the pay period (if relevant to the wage calculation).
The WPL also expressly permits employers to provide wage statements electronically, unless an employee specifically requests to receive the statement in paper copy.
While most employers likely provide the required information already, we recommend reviewing the wage statement provided to employees in New Jersey and making any necessary changes now. Failure to provide the required information could result in a penalty of $250 for the first violation and up to $500 for each subsequent violation.
These changes go into effect on May 20, 2020.
