ASSEMBLY LABOR COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 4625

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  SEPTEMBER 19, 2024

      The Assembly Labor Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 4625.

      As amended, this bill requires an employer to remove a job posting when a position has been filled and include, within any posting for a publicly advertised job, information concerning whether the posting is for an existing position.  As amended, the bill defines employer to mean a person engaged in business in the State, including the State and any political subdivision or other instrumentality of the State, who employs more than 10 employees.

      As amended, the bill provides that prior to a person being fined for a violation of the bill, the person will receive a warning from the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development, in a manner and form as prescribed by the commissioner, to rectify the violation within seven business days.

      Under the bill, an employer is required to provide a timeframe in the job posting as to when the position is anticipated to be filled.  If the employer interviews an applicant for the position, the employer is required, within the timeframe provided in the job advertisement, to provide the applicant with an affirmative response as to whether the position has been filled, or if the position has not been filled, whether the employer is still considering the applicant for the position.

      The bill also requires third-party job posting entities to remove positions that have been filled, and it provides the Department of Labor and Workforce Development with the authority to audit employers and third-party job posting entities for ongoing violations.  Any person who violates the provisions of the bill will be subject to civil penalties.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amended the bill to:

      (1)  define “employer” as a person engaged in business in the State, including the State and any political subdivision or other instrumentality of the State, who employs more than 10 employees;

      (2)  define “third-party job posting entity” as a person or entity that is not the employer for which a job is posted that posts multiple job vacancies or listings on behalf of employers or independently of employers for job seekers to search and apply to job postings on one platform;

      (3)  provide that prior to a person being fined for a violation of the bill, the person will receive a warning from the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development, in a manner and form as prescribed by the commissioner, to rectify the violation within seven business days; and

      (4)  extend the time for a violation to constitute a separate and distinct violation from one week to one month.