The state Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) has introduced new features to its New Jersey Wage Hub, a new portal that makes it easier for employers to comply with state labor laws, advances worker protections on public job sites and now improves transparency around fair wages.
The Wage Hub recently added a New Jersey Certified Payroll Database feature, which makes certified payroll records submitted by construction contractors who perform public work available to the public in accordance with a 2023 state law, the NJDOL announced Tuesday.
The hub also now allows providers of “qualifying services” – those businesses that provide any service other than public work to the State or to any agency or instrumentality of the State – to submit their annual Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act reports online.
NJBIA supported the legislation, S-1422 sponsored by Sen. Troy Singleton (D-7), because it streamlined the public works contractor registration and payroll certification processes.
Cloud technology allows NJDOL to connect these tools to ensure public works contractors, public bodies, state officials and members of the public all have access to the right information with functionality at their fingertips.
“With this additional functionality enhancing New Jersey Wage Hub, we can now enforce the Prevailing Wage Act and the Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act in a coordinated way,” said Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo. “These new features improve our ability to protect all workers and lessen any administrative burden on contractors and public bodies.”
NJ Wage Hub was developed in partnership with Research Improving People’s Lives (RIPL), a tech-for-social-impact nonprofit that works with governments to help them use data, science and technology to improve public policy and lives. The first iteration was released in August.
The portal enhances the state’s existing platforms by leveraging cloud technology to improve wage data collection through user-friendly tools, connect siloed data sources, embed analytics for enforcement, and put information in the hands of workers and those striving to protect them.
Previously, employers submitting the annual Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act form reported their information by emailing a PDF, making it inefficient for state officials to analyze. Now, employers may submit digitally, helping state officials more easily collect and analyze information to protect workers. Additionally, instead of having to file official requests for records, the NJ Certified Payroll Database ensures anyone in the state can access, search, and review certified payroll records that have been submitted through NJ Wage Hub – with certain information redacted to protect privacy.
Effective Aug. 16, 2024, contractors performing public work will be required to report certified payroll records via NJ Wage Hub. Since launching this past summer, 289 contactors and 16 public bodies have registered to the portal, and 278 certified payroll records for 87 different public works projects have been reported and are available for public access at njwages.nj.gov.
