LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE

ASSEMBLY, No. 4182

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

221st LEGISLATURE

 

DATED: DECEMBER 16, 2025

 

 

SUMMARY

 

Synopsis:

Concerns conditions of employment of certain cannabis workers.

 

Type of Impact:

Annual State expenditure and revenue increases.

Agencies Affected:

State Board of Mediation in the Department of Labor and Workforce Development; the Judiciary.

 

 

Office of Legislative Services Estimate

Fiscal Impact

 

Annual

 

 

State Expenditure Increase

 

Indeterminate

 

 

State Revenue Increase

 

Indeterminate

 

 

 

 

·       The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) estimates that the bill will potentially generate an indeterminate small amount of annual expenditures for the State Board of Mediation to establish the regulatory requirements in the bill.

·       The Judiciary may incur additional costs based on involvement in any legal actions related to fines and penalties against employers.  The OLS lacks the informational basis to determine how frequently such violations will take place to arrive at an estimate for the related court costs.

·       An indeterminate amount of fine and penalty revenue may accrue to the State from violations of the bill’s provisions, but the extent of employer non-compliance cannot be reliably forecast to estimate the associated revenues.

 

BILL DESCRIPTION

 

     This bill provides cannabis workers employed by cannabis employers rights and protections equal to the rights and protections provided to certain other workers with respect to employee representation, collective bargaining, and unfair labor practices. 

     Currently, certain cannabis workers, most notably those employed by licensed cannabis cultivators, are excluded from protections against unfair labor practices provided to most private sector workers by the federal National Labor Relations Act.

     This bill brings those cannabis workers under protections similar to those labor protection laws, by expanding the responsibilities of the State Board of Mediation in the Department of Labor and Workforce Development regarding cannabis employment not regulated by the National Labor Relations Act.

     The board may order an offending party to cease any unfair practice and take reasonable remedial action, including, in the case of a discharge, reinstatement, paying lost wages, costs of action, and damages equal to the wages due. 

     The bill increases penalties for employer non-compliance to not more than $5,000 per day of non-compliance.

 

 

FISCAL ANALYSIS

 

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

 

      None received.

 

OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES

 

      The OLS concludes that the bill will potentially generate an indeterminate small amount of annual expenditures for the State Board of Mediation to establish the regulatory requirements of this bill.  The Board of Mediation is an in-but-not-of organization within the Department of Labor and Workforce Development that as part of its mission provides private sector labor relations support.  As reported in the FY 2026 Governor’s Budget, the total actual spending in FY 2024 for this private sector labor relations function was $486,000.  For the reporting period for fiscal years 2020 through 2024 inclusive, the spending for this function ranged between $448,000 and $492,000.  The OLS estimates that the incremental work effort to establish regulations, mediate any unfair labor claims, and administer the process for fines and penalties under the bill will likely not represent significant costs above the established baseline spending.

      The Judiciary may also incur additional annual costs based on any litigation generated by the fines and penalties assessed for violations of this act.  The OLS lacks the informational basis to determine how frequently such violations will take place to arrive at an estimate for the related court costs.

      An indeterminate amount of fine and penalty revenue may accrue to the State from violations of the bill’s provisions, but the extent of employer non-compliance cannot be reliably forecast to estimate the associated revenues.

 

Section:

Commerce, Labor and Industry

Analyst:

John Gaudioso

Associate Fiscal Analyst

Approved:

Thomas Koenig

Legislative Budget and Finance Officer

 

This legislative fiscal estimate has been produced by the Office of Legislative Services due to the failure of the Executive Branch to respond to our request for a fiscal note.

 

This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67 (C.52:13B-6 et seq.).