Work Rights

NJ Work Rights
Regardless of where you live, if you work in New Jersey, your labor standards rights include the right to:

• Earn at least the New Jersey minimum wage
• Be paid for every hour that you work
• Paid sick time to care for yourself or a family member;
• The correct employment status; workers misclassified as independent contractors or paid off the books can be improperly denied the above rights and other NJ state benefits

Protections cover most workers, and no matter how you are paid – cash, piece rate or salary. Report to NJDOL if you believe your employer has violated your rights at myworkrights.nj.gov

NJDOL investigates…

• Wage theft/unpaid wages; minimum wage and overtime violations 
• Earned sick leave violations 
• Retaliation by employers 
• Employer misclassification of independent contractors 
• Prevailing wage violations (publicly funded construction projects) 
• Special protections apply to:Domestic workers, Tipped workers, Farm workers, Young workers/child labor, Temporary workers

NJDOL will make every effort to provide assistance in your language. Learn more at nj.gov/labor/investigate. 

NJDOL protects refugee and immigrant workers

• Immigrants and refugees are welcome in New Jersey. NJDOL is committed to serving all of New Jersey’s workers and businesses to advance labor standards in our state. NJDOL offers free services to all people regardless of their immigration status.
• NJDOL employees do not ask about immigration or citizenship and serve all workers regardless of their status. NJDOL will not share any information from an investigation with any federal immigration agency, unless legally required to do so. 
• You can file anonymously, by mail (New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development Division of Wage and Hour Compliance, P.O. Box 389 Trenton, NJ 08625-0389) or fax (609-965-1174). Write “ANONYMOUS” in the name section of the complaint form and leave address blank. But you won’t receive information about your complaint or be able to check its status.

Know your NJ Work Rights: Temporary Workers

• New Jersey passed a law that gives new rights to many temporary workers: receiving assignment information in your language; equal pay and benefits as client company employees doing same or very similar work; no fees for transportation or check cashing; paid hours if your assignment is canceled or moved. 
• Temporary help service firms and client companies must follow the law:  Both can face penalties for violating workers’ rights 
• You can file a complaint online and/or take private legal action, regardless of your immigration status. See full details and file complaints online at: nj.gov/labor/tempworkers