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A1044
ASSEMBLY, No. 1044
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman WAYNE P. DEANGELO
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Assemblyman JOHN DIMAIO
District 23 (Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Danielsen
SYNOPSIS
���� Increases certain penalties for violations of wage
and hour law.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act
concerning penalties for violations of wage and hour
law and amending P.L.1966, c.113.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� Section 23 of P.L.1966,
c.113 (C.34:11-56a22) is amended to read as follows:
���� 23.� Any employer who
willfully hinders or delays the commissioner, the director or their authorized
representatives in the performance of his duties in the enforcement of
[
this act
]
the �New
Jersey State Wage and Hour Law,� P.L.1966, c.113 (C.34:11-56a et seq.)
, or
fails to make, keep, and preserve any records as required under the provisions
of
[
this
act
]
P.L.1966,
c.113 (C.34:11-56a et seq.)
, or falsifies any such record, or refuses to
make any such record accessible to the commissioner, the director or their
authorized representatives upon demand, or refuses to furnish a sworn statement
of such record or any other information required for the proper enforcement of
[
this act
]
P.L.1966,
c.113 (C.34:11-56a et seq.)
to the commissioner, the director or their
authorized representatives upon demand, or pays or agrees to pay wages at a
rate less than the rate applicable under
[
this
act
]
P.L.1966,
c.113 (C.34:11-56a et seq.)
or any wage order issued pursuant thereto, or
otherwise violates any provision of
[
this
act
]
P.L.1966,
c.113 (C.34:11-56a et seq.)
or of any regulation or order issued under
[
this act
]
P.L.1966,
c.113 (C.34:11-56a et seq.)
shall be guilty of a disorderly persons offense
and shall, upon conviction for a first violation, be punished by a fine of not
less than
[
$100
]
$500
nor more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for not less than 10 nor more than 90
days or by both the fine and imprisonment and, upon conviction for a second
[
or subsequent
]
violation, be
punished by a fine of not less than
[
$500
]
$1,000
nor more than
[
$1,000
]
$2,000
or by imprisonment for not less than 10 nor more than 100 days or by both the
fine and imprisonment.�
Upon conviction for a third or subsequent violation,
an employer shall be guilty of a crime of the fourth degree and be punished by
a fine of not less than $2,000 nor more than $10,000 or by imprisonment for up
to 18 months or by both the fine and imprisonment.
� Each week, in any day
of which an employee is paid less than the rate applicable to him under
[
this act
]
P.L.1966,
c.113 (C.34:11-56a et seq.)
or under a minimum fair wage order, and each
employee so paid, shall constitute a separate offense.�
���� As an alternative to or in
addition to any other sanctions provided by law for violations of the "New
Jersey State Wage and
Hour Law," P.L.1966, c.113
(C.34:11-56a et seq.), when the Commissioner of Labor
and Workforce
Development
finds that an individual has violated
[
that act
]
P.L.1966,
c.113 (C.34:11-56a et seq.)
, the commissioner is authorized to assess and
collect administrative penalties, up to a maximum of $250 for a first violation
and up to a maximum of $500 for each subsequent violation, specified in a
schedule of penalties to be promulgated as a rule or regulation by the
commissioner in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act,"
P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.). When determining the amount of the
penalty imposed because of a violation, the commissioner shall consider factors
which include the history of previous violations by the employer, the seriousness
of the violation, the good faith of the employer and the size of the employer's
business.� No administrative penalty shall be levied pursuant to this section
unless the Commissioner of Labor
and Workforce Development
provides the
alleged violator with notification of the violation and of the amount of the
penalty by certified mail and an opportunity to request a hearing before the
commissioner or his designee within 15 days following the receipt of the
notice.� If a hearing is requested, the commissioner shall issue a final order
upon such hearing and a finding that a violation has occurred.� If no hearing
is requested, the notice shall become a final order upon expiration of the
15-day period.� Payment of the penalty is due when a final order is issued or when
the notice becomes a final order.� Any penalty imposed pursuant to this section
may be recovered with costs in a summary proceeding commenced by the
commissioner pursuant to
[
"the
penalty enforcement law" (N.J.S.2A:58-1 et seq.)
]
the �Penalty Enforcement Law
of 1999,� P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.)
.� Any sum collected as a
fine or penalty pursuant to this section shall be applied toward enforcement
and administration costs of the Division of Workplace Standards in the
Department of Labor
and Workforce Development
.
(cf: P.L.1991, c.205, s.5)
���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
����� This bill revises certain penalties for violations of
the �New Jersey State Wage and Hour Law,� P.L.1966, c.113 (C.34:11-56a et
seq.).� The bill provides that an employer who violates any provision of that
law is, upon conviction of a first or second violation, guilty of a disorderly
persons offense, and, upon conviction of a third or subsequent offense, guilty
of a crime of the fourth degree.
����� Current law states that for a first violation an
employer is guilty of a disorderly persons offense and may be punished by a
fine of not less than $100 and not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for not
less than 10 and not more than 90 days or by both the fine and imprisonment.�
The bill increases the applicable fines for a first violation to not less than
$500 and maintains the maximum fine of not more than $1,000.� Current law also
states that for a second or subsequent violation an employer is guilty of a
disorderly persons offense and may be punished by a fine of not less than $500
and not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for not less than 10 and more than
100 days or by both the fine and imprisonment.� The bill increases the
applicable fines for a second violation to not less than $1,000 and not more
than $2,000.� Finally, the bill provides that a third or subsequent violation
constitutes a crime of the fourth degree, punishable by a fine of not less than
$2,000 and not more than $10,000 or by imprisonment for up to 18 months or by
both the fine and imprisonment.