The state of New Jersey has issued two new pay equity reporting forms to be filed by any employer, regardless of location, that enters into a contract with a public body to provide qualifying services or public work.
The Annual Equal Pay Report for Qualifying Services Other than Public Works Projects form applies to employers contracting with the state or any state agency to provide services not associated with public works projects. Service contractors – employers providing services to New Jersey or any related state agency regardless of whether these contractors reside within or outside the state – must report data on compensation and hours worked for all their employees working within the state on a state services contract. The data reported must include: gender, race, job title, ethnicity, EEO-1 code job categories, and total compensation. Contractors report each employee’s annual earnings in the federal W-2 form, Box 1. They must report employee earnings as one of 12 pay bands.
The Payroll Certifications for Public Works Projects form must be completed by contractors and subcontractors, including those located outside the state, that have entered into public works contracts with the state of New Jersey. These employers are required to submit this new form on a weekly basis, providing information on hours worked and compensation, as well as employee sex, race, and ethnicity.
The forms are part of the state’s implementation of the Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act, which went into effect in July. The Allen Act, among other things, prohibits paying a lesser rate of compensation — including benefits — to a member of any protected class in New Jersey and extends the statute of limitations for compensation claims. The purpose of the law is to strengthen protections against employment discrimination and promote equal pay for all groups afforded protection against discrimination under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.
Employers that do business with the state of New Jersey should educate the appropriate parties within their organization to ensure they are complying with the new state pay equity reporting requirements. Instructions on how to complete the two forms, issued by the state’s Department of Labor & Workforce Development, can be found here.
Employers not affected by the New Jersey pay equity laws should research whether they have work locations that are subject to other state and local pay equity regulation that is gaining momentum in many states across the U.S.
To learn more about achieving pay equity, click here.
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