Establishes Office of Labor Law Enforcement.

S3368

SENATE, No. 3368

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 5, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� CARMEN F. AMATO, JR.

District 9 (Ocean)

Co-Sponsored by:

Senator Space

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes Office of Labor Law Enforcement.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
establishing the Office of Labor Law
Enforcement
and supplementing Title 34 of the Revised Statutes.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� a.� There is established
in the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the Office of Labor Law
Enforcement.� The office shall oversee, evaluate, and coordinate enforcement
activities of the department regarding violations of the provisions of labor
laws, including provisions regarding wages and other terms and conditions of
employment, and provisions regarding the financing and provision of benefits or
insurance for workers, the keeping and disclosure of records, and provisions
prohibiting false or misleading statements, representations, submissions, or
the misclassification of employees, made by employers, employees, or other
persons to wrongfully obtain or wrongfully deny or delay the full payment of
wages and benefits, or pay less than the premiums, contributions, or taxes
which are required by the provisions of State labor laws.

���� b.��� When requested by the Commissioner
of Labor and Workforce Development, the Attorney General shall assign one or
more deputy attorneys general to represent the department in proceedings regarding
violations of State labor law.� Deputy attorneys general assigned to the
enforcement of State labor laws shall be co-located in facilities of the
department with department personnel engaged in the enforcement of State labor
laws.

���� c.��� The department shall
issue and make public an annual report regarding the office, which shall
include, for each labor law, a summary of enforcement activities, the number of
deputy attorneys general and department personnel dedicated to enforcement, the
personnel costs and penalties and other revenues collected, and the portion of
revenues expended on enforcement.� The report shall include an analysis of, and
recommendations regarding, any changes needed in the number of personnel,
including the number of deputy attorneys general assigned to the enforcement of
each law.� Recommendations in the report shall be taken into consideration by
the Governor in the development of the State budget for the following fiscal
year.

���� d.��� All sums collected as
fines or penalties pursuant to State labor laws shall be applied to costs of
enforcement and administration of those laws, which shall include all expenses
of the Office of Labor Law Enforcement.

���� e.��� For the purposes of this
section:

���� �Department� means the
Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

���� �State labor laws� means all
laws administered or enforced by the department concerning standards regarding
wages and other terms and conditions of employment, and the financing and
provision of benefits or insurance for workers, including, but not limited to:

���� (1)� State wage and hour laws;

���� (2)� The �unemployment
compensation law,� R.S.43:21-1 et seq.;

���� (3)� The �Temporary Disability
Benefits Law,� P.L.1948, c.110 (C.43:21-25 et al.);

���� (4)� P.L.2008, c.17
(C.43:21-39.1 et al.);

���� (5)� Section 1 of P.L.1998,
c.74 (C.34:15-57.4); and

���� (6)� The workers� compensation
law, R.S.34:15-1 et seq.

���� �State wage and hour laws� include,
but are not limited to:

���� (1)� Article 1 of chapter 11
of Title 34 of the Revised Statutes and all acts supplementing that article
(R.S.34:11-2 et al.);

���� (2)� P.L.1966, c.113 and all
acts supplementing that act (C.34:11-56a et al.);

���� (3)� P.L.2005, c.379
(C.34:11-56.58 et seq.);

���� (4)� Article 3 of chapter 11
of Title 34 of the Revised Statutes (R.S.34:11-57 et seq.);

���� (5)� The "New Jersey
Prevailing Wage Act," P.L.1963, c.150 (C.34:11-56.25 et seq.); and

���� (6)� "The Public Works
Contractor Registration Act," P.L.1999, c.238 (C.34:11-56.48 et seq.).

���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill establishes, in the
Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the Office of Labor Law
Enforcement, charged with overseeing, evaluating, and coordinating enforcement
activities of the department regarding violations of State labor laws.

���� The bill directs the Attorney
General, upon a request by the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development,
to assign one or more deputy attorneys general to represent the department in
proceedings regarding State labor law violations, with the assigned deputy
attorneys general co-located in department facilities with department personnel
engaged in labor law enforcement.

���� The department is required to
issue and make public an annual report regarding the office which includes, for
each labor law, a summary of enforcement activities, the number of deputy
attorneys general and department personnel dedicated to enforcement, personnel
costs, the amount of penalties and other revenues collected, and what portion
of the revenues are expended on enforcement.� The report shall include an
analysis of, and recommendations regarding, any changes needed in the number of
personnel, including the number of assigned deputy attorneys general, for the
enforcement of each law.� The bill requires that recommendations in the report
be taken into consideration by the Governor in the development of the State
budget for the following fiscal year.

���� The bill requires that all
sums collected as fines or penalties pursuant to State labor laws be applied to
costs of enforcement and administration of those laws, including expenses of
the Office of Labor Law Enforcement.

���� �State labor laws� are defined
as all laws administered by the department that concern standards regarding
wages and other terms and conditions of employment, and the financing and
provision of benefits or insurance for workers.�