Pay Transparency Arrives In New Jersey: What Employers Need To Know
New Jersey’s Pay and Benefit Transparency Act took effect on June 1, 2025, adding new requirements for how employers advertise jobs and share pay information. The law applies to most businesses with 10+ employees operating in or hiring from the state. Here's what employers need to know.
On June 1, 2025, New Jersey’s Pay and Benefit Transparency Act officially took effect, ushering in new requirements for how employers advertise jobs, share salary information, and communicate promotional opportunities. With this law, New Jersey joins a growing list of states advancing pay transparency as a tool to close wage gaps and promote fairness in hiring.
For employers with operations or applicants in the Garden State, the new requirements demand immediate attention. The law applies to businesses with 10 or more employees over the course of 20 calendar weeks that either operate in New Jersey or take applications for employment within the state. That includes private companies, public employers, staffing firms, and job placement agencies.
What the Law Requires
At its core, the New Jersey Pay and Benefit Transparency Act (NJPBTA) is about ensuring job seekers and current employees have access to meaningful compensation information. The law introduces two main obligations: job posting transparency and promotional opportunity notice.PROMOTED
Job Posting Requirements
When advertising a new job or transfer opportunity, whether internally or externally, covered employers must now include:
The hourly wage or salary, or a defined range
A general description of benefits
A general description of other compensation programs, such as bonuses, commissions, or incentive pay
Importantly, the wage range must include both a minimum and maximum figure. Phrases like “up to $35 per hour” or “$70,000 and up” do not satisfy the law’s requirements. The same applies to benefits. Employers may no longer rely on vague terms like “great benefits” or “competitive package.” Instead, they must provide a general but substantive overview.
These disclosure rules apply across all posting formats, including print advertisements, company newsletters, job boards, emails, and social media. If the employer fails to provide the required information, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) may assess a penalty of up to $300 for a first violation and $600 for each subsequent violation.
Employers must also make reasonable efforts to inform all current employees in affected departments about promotional opportunities, defined as a change in job title coupled with an increase in compensation, before making a decision. This applies regardless of whether the opportunity is posted internally or externally. However, there are two exceptions. Employers do not need to provide notice for promotions awarded solely based on performance or seniority, or those made on an emergent basis due to unforeseen circumstances.
Out-of-State Employers Take Note
Employers based outside of New Jersey are not off the hook. If a company has employees in New Jersey or accepts applications from New Jersey residents, it must comply with the NJPBTA when advertising positions accessible to those applicants. Even remote-first or nationally recruiting employers should review whether any aspect of their hiring or promotion practices triggers coverage under the law.
Special Rules for Temp Agencies
Temporary help service firms and consulting firms are treated slightly differently. They are not required to disclose wage and benefit information in general job postings used to identify potential applicants for future assignments. However, they must provide that information to candidates at the time of interview or hire for a specific job opening. This carveout is narrow and applies only to speculative postings, not confirmed job assignments.
Achieving Compliance
The NJPBTA builds on New Jersey’s broader pay equity framework. Since 2018, the Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act has prohibited pay discrimination based on any protected characteristic under the state’s Law Against Discrimination. Employers are also barred from asking about a job applicant’s salary history under a separate law that took effect in 2020.
Given these overlapping requirements, employers should take immediate steps to bring their job advertising and internal promotion procedures into alignment with the law. That means updating job posting templates, training recruiters and hiring managers, reviewing third-party postings, and creating internal workflows to ensure eligible employees are informed of advancement opportunities. Pay transparency is no longer a best practice in New Jersey. It is now a legal requirement.
The NJPBTA also brings with it broader implications. Salary disclosures may raise questions among current employees about internal equity, and employers should be prepared to address those concerns thoughtfully and consistently. While the law allows for pay differences based on experience, education, and job-related skills, it does not excuse disparities rooted in unlawful discrimination. Employers should be proactive in reviewing their compensation practices to ensure compliance with New Jersey’s Equal Pay Act and Law Against Discrimination.
A National Trend
New Jersey’s move reflects a nationwide push toward greater transparency in employment practices. From California to Colorado, and from New York City to Washington State, jurisdictions across the country are codifying salary disclosure and fair opportunity principles. For multi-state employers, this patchwork presents a compliance challenge, but also an opportunity to lead with equity and build trust with candidates and employees alike.
The NJPBTA reinforces a simple idea: job seekers deserve to know what they can expect to earn, and employees deserve a fair shot at advancing their careers. With the law now in effect, employers who haven’t already taken steps to comply must act quickly to avoid penalties and ensure consistent practices across platforms and departments.
As more jurisdictions move in this direction, a proactive approach to pay transparency is no longer optional. It’s essential for minimizing legal exposure and maintaining operational readiness in a changing regulatory landscape.
Release Date: June 18, 2025
Alonzo Martinez
Alonzo Martinez is Associate General Counsel at HireRight, where he supports the company’s compliance, legal research, and thought leadership initiatives in the background screening industry. As a senior contributor at Forbes, Alonzo writes on employment legislation, criminal history reform, pay equity, AI discrimination laws, and the impact of legalized cannabis on employers. Recognized as an industry influencer, he shares insights through his weekly video updates, media appearances, podcasts, and HireRight's compliance webinar series. Alonzo's commitment to advancing industry knowledge ensures HireRight remains at the forefront of creating actionable compliance content.