Resources & Links

Resources

Minimum Wage Rate by State: Effective January 1st, 2018

https://www.dol.gov/whd/minwage/america.htm

EQUAL PAY ACT POSTING REQUIREMENT FOR NEW JERSEY EMPLOYERS

As of January 6th, 2014 New Jersey employers have to inform employees of their “right to be free from gender inequity or bias in pay, compensation, benefits or other terms or conditions of employment” under state and federal anti-discrimination statutes. Employers in New Jersey with a total of 50 or more employees—whether those employees work in or outside of the state—will have to comply with the following:

Covered employers must conspicuously post the notice in an area that is accessible to all employees in each of the company’s locations.
Alternatively, if an employer has an Internet site or intranet site exclusively used by its employees and, to which all employees have access, the employer may satisfy the posting requirement by placing the notice on the site.
On, or before, February 5, 2014, covered employers must provide written notice to employees hired on or before January 6, 2014.
After January 6, 2014, covered employers must provide a written copy of the notice to all new hires at the time of hire.
Covered employers must provide every employee with a written notice of the same information annually on or before December 31 of each year.
Covered employers also must provide each employee a written copy of the notice upon request.

The required notice can be distributed electronically or in hard copy form. The written notice must be accompanied by the employee’s acknowledgment that the notice was received, read and understood. This acknowledgment must be signed by the employee (in writing or by means of electronic verification) and returned to the employer within 30 days of the employee’s receipt of the notice.

Notices must be posted in English and Spanish as well as any other language spoken by 10% or more of the employer’s workforce provided that the NJDOL has issued the notice in that language.

A copy of the Notice is available at the NJDOL.

CAN PAY RATES VARY BETWEEN EMPLOYEES?

There can be several reasons that warrant & justify pay differences between employees in the same position or in different positions within the same grade within an organization. Part of this is the recognition that each employee offers her/his value to the organization.

Performance is the most obvious & generally accepted pay differentiator

Organizations benefit from employees who perform at a higher level in terms of work output, quality, creativity/innovation, problem solving or some other attribute used by the organization in the performance evaluation component of its performance management system.

Some of the other factors that which may affect the determination of an employee’s value & thus compensation are her/his:

1. Education & Training

Clearly, all employees in a given position should meet the minimum educational requirements—or have appropriate experience that in certain instances can offset education.
If an employee’s education exceeds the minimum requirements, this can serve as a basis for higher compensation, particularly when there is a direct correlation between the educational level & job knowledge & performance.
An employee may have the advantage of having received special training from pervious employment or on their own.

2. Experience

An employee’s experience may be such that her/his experience brings a greater worth than another employees.
This more valuable experience may be in the form of experience:
Before going into the deep discussion on this topic, first you need to understand about what are sexual health concerns? Simply put, they are the result of this medication is not affected by fatty or other food. order cheap viagra Find Out More
- In the same or similar role
- In your specific industry or one for which the experience has a high degree of transferability
- With your products or services

3. Special skills or talents, such as:

Being bi-lingual
Having proficiency in some aspect(s) of her/his work, such as a computer application or a management information system used by your company (for example, SAP or Oracle)

4. Professional Certification

Certification beyond that required for the position can signify a level of proficiency which serves to provide enhance an employee’s value to the company

5. Years of Service

It is common for companies to recognize the higher value of long service employees. These employees often have greater knowledge about both the formal & informal workings of the organization, awareness of its culture and have established internal & external relationships.

Executive Order 11246 As Amended

Executive Order 11246 as amended, and its implementing regulations are administered by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) and cover employers with federal contracts or subcontracts that exceed $10,000 or that will (or can reasonably be expected to) accumulate to more than $10,000 in any 12-month period.

The Executive Order requires covered contractors and subcontractors to refrain from discrimination and to engage in affirmative steps to ensure that applicants and employees receive equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, religion, sex, and/or national origin.

Covered contractors and subcontractors, regardless of company size, may not use exclusionary policies that treat men and women differently.

Federal supply and service contractors and subcontractors who employ 50 or more persons and have a contract of $50,000 or more must develop and annually update a written Affirmative Action Program (AAP). In general, the AAP will describe the policies, practices, and procedures that the contractor or subcontractor uses to ensure that all qualified applicants and employees receive equal opportunities for employment and advancement.

If the contractor or subcontractor is not employing women or minorities at a rate to be expected given their availability in the relevant labor pool, the AAP will need to include specific practical steps to address the issue.

Employee Polygraph Protection Act

The Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) is administered by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. The EPPA applies to most private employers.

The EPPA prohibits most private employers from using lie detector tests, either for pre employment screening or during the course of employment. Employers generally may not require or request any employee or job applicant to take a lie detector test, or discharge, discipline, or discriminate against an employee or job applicant for refusing to take a test or for exercising other rights under the Act.

Violators are subject to civil money penalties up to $10,000 per violation.

Employment Retirement Income Security Act

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) is administered by the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), with it and the Department of the Treasury’s Internal Revenue Service, having regulatory authority related to compliance. ERISA covers most private sector employee benefit plans.

Such plans are voluntarily established and maintained by an employer, an employee organization, or jointly by one or more such employers and an employee organization. These plans include:

Welfare Plans (health benefits, disability benefits, death benefits, prepaid legal services, vacation benefits, day care centers, scholarship funds, apprenticeship and training benefits, or other similar benefits.)
Retirement Plans (pension, 401(k) and 403(b) plans)

ERISA sets uniform minimum standards to ensure that employee benefit plans are established and maintained in a fair and financially sound manner. In addition, employers have an obligation to provide promised benefits and satisfy ERISA’s requirements for managing and administering private retirement and welfare plans.

EBSA, in conjunction with the IRS and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) publishes the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report forms that are to be used by plan administrators to satisfy various annual reporting obligations under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code.

A penalty of up to $1,000 per day may be assessed against plan administrators who fail or refuse to comply with annual reporting requirements.

Fair Labor Standards Act

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) applies to enterprises with employees who engage in interstate commerce, produce goods for interstate commerce, or handle, sell, or work on goods or materials that have been moved in or produced for interstate commerce. For most firms, a test of not less than $500,000 in annual dollar volume of business applies (i.e., the Act does not cover enterprises with less than this amount of business).

The Act is administered by the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor.

The FLSA establishes standards affecting employees in the private sector and in Federal, State, and local governments related to the following:

FLSA Minimum Wage: The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009. Many states also have minimum wage laws. In cases where an employee is subject to both state and federal minimum wage laws, the employee is entitled to the higher minimum wage.

FLSA Overtime: Covered nonexempt employees must receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 per workweek (any fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours — seven consecutive 24-hour periods) at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay. There is no limit on the number of hours employees 16 years or older may work in any workweek. The FLSA does not require overtime pay for work on weekends, holidays, or regular days of rest, unless overtime is worked on such days.

Hours Worked: Hours worked ordinarily include all the time during which an employee is required to be on the employer’s premises, on duty, or at a prescribed workplace.

Recordkeeping: Employers must display an official poster outlining the requirements of the FLSA.

Employers must also keep employee time and pay records.

Child Labor: These provisions are designed to protect the educational opportunities of minors and prohibit their employment in jobs and under conditions detrimental to their health or well-being.

The Department of Labor uses a variety of remedies to enforce compliance with the Act’s requirements. When Wage and Hour Division investigators encounter violations, they recommend changes in employment practices to bring the employer into compliance, and they request the payment of any back wages due to employees.

Willful violators may be prosecuted criminally and fined up to $10,000. A second conviction may result in imprisonment.
The Department of Labor may also bring suit for back pay and an equal amount in liquidated damages, and it may obtain injunctions to restrain persons from violating the Act.