SENATE LABOR COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 3509

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  MARCH 3, 2025

      The Senate Labor Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 3509.

      As amended, this bill requires an employer to include in any posting for a publicly advertised job, information concerning whether the posting is for an existing, vacant position, and remove a job posting when a position has been filled within two weeks after the position being filled or 30 days after the original posting, whichever is later.

      If the posting is for a position which is vacant, the employer is required to provide an estimated timeframe of when the position will 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 employer is required to give notice that the position has been filled to any third-party job posting company that also posted the vacant position.

      If the posting is for a position which is not vacant, the employer is required to include a disclaimer that there is no existing vacancy.  Such a posting and disclaimer is not allowed unless the employer has, in the preceding 12 months, listed the same position at least three times or hired not less than six employees for similar roles.  The posting and disclaimer shall expire after 90 days and be removed.

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

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amendments:

      1.   Specify that if a posting is not for an existing vacancy, a disclaimer is required that there is not an existing vacancy, prohibit the posting and disclaimer shall not be permitted unless the employer has, within the preceding 12 months, listed the same position not less than three times or hired not less than six employees for similar roles, and require that the posting and disclaimer expire after 90 days.

      2.   Provide that the amount of time that a position may be advertised after the position is filled may be, in addition to the two weeks after the position is fill provided in the bill as introduced, 30 days after the original posting, whichever is later.

      3.   Reduce the civil penalty for a violation, which had been from not less than $1,000 nor more than $5,000, to not more than $300 for a first violation and not more than $600 for a subsequent violation, and change who is identified as liable for the penalties from a “person” to the “employer or third-party job posting company.”

      4.   Specify that for the purposes of the bill, a position shall be regarded as filled on the first day that a selected candidate begins the performance of job duties.

      5.   Define “interview” to mean a formal or informal meeting or conversation between an employer or employer representative and a job applicant that is conducted to assess the candidate’s qualifications, skill, or suitability for a specific position, and specify that “interview” does not include preliminary screenings or assessments of information about a job applicant, which is conducted by employer representatives to verify basic qualifications or interest in the position or to determine whether to interview the applicant.