Signed by Governor Phil Murphy

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that establishes an equal pay law which prohibits workplace discrimination.

Highlights:

• Prohibits an employer from practicing wage altering or reducing towards a protected class for the same amount of work and specifies that the employer will be held responsible for all back pay compensation of wages and benefits incurred over the previous 6 years (Sec. 2).

• Defines “protected class” as an employee who has one or more of the following characteristics, including, but not limited to (Sec. 2):

• Race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, or pregnancy;

• Sex, gender identity, marital status, domestic partnership, or sexual orientation; and

• Disability, genetic information or atypical hereditary cellular blood trait.

• Prohibits the employment practice of requiring employees or prospective employees consent to a shortened statute of limitations or from waiving any of the protections provided by the “law against discrimination” act (Sec. 2.).

• Specifies that comparisons of wage rates shall be based on the wage rates in all of an employer’s operations or facilities (Sec. 2).

• Establishes that if found guilty of unlawful employment practices by a jury, the employer shall be required to pay 3 times the amount of monetary damages to the individuals aggrieved by the violation (Sec. 2).

• Requires an employer that enters into contract with a public body to provide a report to the Commissioner of Labor and Workplace Development regarding the compensation and hours worked by both part and full time employees broken down and categorized by gender, race, ethnicity, and job category (Sec. 2).

Full Bill Text