Quick Hits

• The New Jersey governor signed legislation that will require employers to provide the “hourly wage or salary, or a range of the hourly wage or salary” in postings for new jobs or transfer opportunities.
• The law will also require employers to make “reasonable efforts” to advertise promotion opportunities to all current employees “in the affected department or departments of the employer’s business.”
• The law is set to take effect on June 1, 2025.

The signing of Senate Bill 2310 (S2310) comes nearly two months after the legislation was passed by the New Jersey Assembly on September 26, 2034. The legislation unanimously passed the state Senate (40-0) in June 2024.

S2310 adds New Jersey to the growing list of states and jurisdictions with pay transparency laws. According to the Ogletree Deakins Client Portal, thirteen other states, in addition to the District of Columbia, have enacted a statewide pay transparency law, including four states—Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Vermont—that have laws that will go into effect in 2025.

Pay Transparency Requirements

S2310 will require employers to include the “hourly wage or salary, or a range of the hourly wage or salary” in each “posting for new jobs and transfer opportunities that are advertised by the employer either externally or internally.”

Further, regarding promotion opportunities, S2310 will require employers to make “reasonable efforts” to “announce, post, or otherwise make known” any promotion opportunity advertised either internally within the employer or externally “to all current employees in the affected department or departments of the employer’s business.” The term “promotion” is defined as a “change in job title and an increase in compensation.”

Notably, the law also applies to temporary help service firms and consulting firms, requiring them to provide temp workers the same “pay and benefit information” as required by other types of employers for the specific job opening.

Next Steps

Businesses with employees in New Jersey may want to review their job postings and listings for internal promotions to ensure compliance with the upcoming pay transparency obligations. Noncompliance with the new requirements may lead to civil penalties of $300 for a first violation and $600 for subsequent violations.

More information on S2310 is available here.