NJ bill would require all job ads to show pay rate

You no longer would have to apply for a job blindfolded, having no certainty about the position’s pay rate, if a new bill in Trenton is passed to change that.

The bill, which already got unanimous approval from the Senate Labor Committee Monday, aims to bring more transparency concerning employment listings, something that supporters say can help close gender and racial pay gaps.

The legislation would require employers to disclose the compensation for any job posting, including benefits, and hourly wage or salary. Not only would the rule apply to external job ads found on the internet, but also to internal job promotions, such as transfer opportunities.

If it becomes a law, any employer who fails to disclose compensation on job ads would be subject to a civil penalty of less than $1,000 for the first violation, $5,000 for the second violation and $10,000 for each subsequent violation, the legislation reads.

Furthermore, the bill “requires employers to make reasonable efforts to announce, post or otherwise make known opportunities for promotion” before hiring anyone for the position.

Still, the legislation accepts job listings with a pay range in lieu of a definite hourly rate or salary. As it does not establish how ample the range could be, applicants might, for instance, find a job posting that offers a range in the tens of thousands of dollars.

Consulting and temporary help service firms that identify prospective qualifying workers for future job openings that do not exist at the moment would be exempt from the new provisions, the legislation reads.

This bill is sponsored in the state Senate by state Sens. Paul Moriarty, D-Gloucester, and Shirley Turner, D-Mercer. In the Assembly, sponsors for this bill include Joe Danielsen, D-Somerset, Annette Quijano, D-Union, and Tennille McCoy, D-Mercer.