On September 21, 2012, New Jersey’s Governor Chris Christie signed Assembly Bill No. 2647 (A-2647) into law, supplementing the New Jersey Equal Pay Act which will take effect on November 19, 2012, and applies to all New Jersey employers with 50 or more employees.  A-2647 imposes several new obligations on employers, who must conspicuously post the notification in an accessible and conspicuous place in English, Spanish and any other language spoken by  10% of the workforce within 30 days of the time the Commissioner first issues the form notice.

The notice must detail employees’ rights to be free of gender inequity or bias in pay, compensation, benefits or other terms and conditions of employment.  In addition, the notice must be given to new employees upon hire and to any employee upon request.  Employers must redistribute the notice annually and obtain a written acknowledgment that the employee has read and understood the notice.  Distribution of the notice may be made by paper or electronically via email or a website, “if the site is for the exclusive use of all workers, can be accessed by all workers, and the employer provides notice to the workers of its posting.”

However, the law does not require posting or distribution on the effective date, November 19, 2012, or even within 30 days of the effective date.  The posting and distribution requirements will not be triggered until the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development issues the notification by regulation, the notice has passed through the regulatory approval process and is published in the New Jersey Register.  This process will likely take several months.