LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE

[First Reprint]

ASSEMBLY, No. 4182

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

221st LEGISLATURE

 

DATED: DECEMBER 23, 2025

 

 

SUMMARY

 

Synopsis:

Revises collective bargaining agreement protections for cannabis employees and certain private sector employees.

Type of Impact:

Annual State expenditure and revenue increases.

Agencies Affected:

Division of Private Employment Dispute Settlement in the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

 

 

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 increase in annual State expenditures for the Division of Private Employment Dispute Settlement in the Department of Labor and Workforce Development to implement the bill’s provisions.

·         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 revises the collective bargaining agreement and labor protections for cannabis employees and certain private sector employees.

     The bill requires the Division of Private Employment Dispute Settlement in the Department of Labor to handle all matters with regard to private employees’ right to organize, form unions, and bargain collectively in the State of New Jersey.  Under the bill, “private employee” means an employee in the private sector who is not covered by the National Labor Relations Act.  The bill also requires the division to have offices throughout the State as deemed appropriate to fulfill its roles and responsibilities.

     The bill provides the Division of Private Employment Dispute Settlement with certain powers and duties with respect to labor disputes in private employment. The division may take such steps as it may deem expedient to effect a voluntary settlement of the differences and issues between employer and employees which have culminated in a labor dispute. The bill provides for certain procedures the division is to follow to investigate and resolve disputes, and gives the division the authority to hold hearings, subpoena witnesses, compel their attendance, and administer oaths.

     The bill provides that an employer who commits an unfair labor practice or refusal to adhere to representative, election, or bargaining procedures, in addition to any remedy ordered by the division, is subject to a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $10,000 for each violation.  In cases involving certain unfair labor practices, or practices that result in the discharge of an employee or other serious economic harm to an employee, the division is required to double the amount of the penalty to an amount not to exceed $20,000.

     Certain provisions of the bill specifically pertain to cannabis employees as a subset of private employees and provide cannabis employees with certain employment-related rights.  The bill provides that cannabis employees have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining, and shall also have the right to refrain from those activities except to the extent that the right may be affected by an agreement requiring membership in a labor organization as a condition of employment.  The bill provides that cannabis employees have certain rights to engage in strikes due to unfair labor practices.

 

 

FISCAL ANALYSIS

 

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

 

      None received.

 

OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES

 

      The OLS concludes that the bill will potentially generate an indeterminate increase in annual State expenditures for the Division of Private Employment Dispute Settlement in the Department of Labor and Workforce Development to implement the bill’s provisions.  The bill establishes additional responsibilities for the Division of Private Employment Dispute Settlement, including the requirement to have offices throughout the State as deemed appropriate to fulfill its roles and responsibilities.  The OLS is unable to accurately estimate the additional incremental work effort and costs that may result from these provisions.

      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.).