Official Site of The State of New JerseyDomestic Workers' Wages Protections and Workplace Rights
This statute and rule reprint is for ready reference only. For official text consult the New Jersey Statutes Annotated and the New Jersey Administrative Code.
N.J.S.A. 34:11-69 et seq. Domestic Workers' Wages Protections and Workplace Rights
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Findings, declarations |
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Definitions |
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Domestic worker, casual work, work less than five hours per month, prohibited unless governed by written contract |
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Domestic worker, uninterrupted paid rest period |
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Live-in domestic worker, work more than six consecutive days, same employer, without 24-hour rest, prohibited |
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Domestic worker employer, minimum two-week notification before termination; live-in domestic worker employer, minimum four-week notification before termination |
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Domestic worker, personal records, information, monitoring |
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Hiring entity, domestic worker, notification of rights, information, complaint, violation of rights |
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Hiring entity, domestic worker, interfere, restrain, deny exercise of, attempt, rights, prohibited; actions considered retaliation |
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Guidelines, regulations promulgated |
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Overlapping employment relationship, domestic worker, subject to joint, several liability, concurrent fines, penalties |
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“Domestic Work Enforcement Program” established |
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Construction of act; severability |
CHAPTER 11. WAGES
ARTICLE 5. DOMESTIC WORKERS’ WAGES PROTECTIONS AND WORKPLACE RIGHTS
N.J.S.A. 34:11-69 et seq. WAGES PROTECTIONS AND WORKPLACE RIGHTS
34:11-69. Findings, declarations
The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. Domestic workers provide valuable services in industries such as in-home child care, house cleaning, home care, cooking, gardening, and other household occupations.
b. The labor domestic workers provide is an important contribution to the State’s economy and prosperity, including, but not limited to, by providing support services that enable other individuals to participate in the workforce.
c. Many domestic workers are women, immigrants, and persons of color who work in or about private homes, isolated from other workers.
d. Since 2007, the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) has advocated for respect for domestic workers by including them in national, State, and local labor protection laws. In September 2020, NDWA affiliates, Adhikaar, Casa Freehold, New Labor and Wind of the Spirit, in collaboration with the Center for Women at Work at Rutgers University, released a report which found low pay, lack of benefits, and rampant wage theft occurs throughout the domestic worker industry and that there is a lack of enforcement regarding existing rights of domestic workers.
e. At least 10 other states and two cities have enacted legislation to provide rights, benefits, and protections for domestic workers.
f. The Legislature therefore finds that it is in the best interest of the State of New Jersey and its residents to provide rights, benefits, and protections to the countless domestic workers providing valuable services throughout the State.
34:11-70. Definitions
As used in P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.):
“Casual work” means work that is:
(1) irregular, uncertain, or incidental in nature and duration; and
(2) different in nature from the type of paid work in which the worker is customarily engaged.
“Domestic services” means services of a household nature and performed by an individual in or about a private home on a permanent or temporary basis and includes services performed by a domestic worker.
“Domestic worker” or “worker” means hourly and salaried employees, full-time and part-time individuals, and temporary individuals and is narrowly construed to mean any worker who:
(1) works for one or more employers; and
(2) is an individual who works in residence for the purposes of providing any of the following services: caring for a child; serving as a companion or caretaker for a sick, convalescing, or elderly person or a person with a disability; housekeeping or house cleaning; cooking; providing food or butler service; parking cars; cleaning laundry; gardening; personal organizing; or for any other domestic service purpose, provided that the term domestic worker does not include:
(a) A family member, with “family member” meaning a spouse, child, parent, sibling, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, first cousin, grandparent, grandchild, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, stepparent, stepchild, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother, or half-sister, whether the individual is related by blood, marriage, or adoption;
(b) An individual primarily engaged in house sitting, pet sitting, or dog walking;
(c) An individual working at a business operated primarily out of the residence, such as a home day-care business;
(d) An individual whose primary work involves household repair or maintenance, such as a roofer, plumber, mason, painter, or other similar contractor;
(e) An employee of the State or the United States; or
(f) An individual established as a kinship legal guardian, as defined by section 2 of P.L.2001, c.250 (C.3B:12A-2), of a child who lives in the residence or an individual who participates in the Kinship Navigator Program, as authorized by the Department of Children and Families, as a caregiver of a child who lives in the residence and receives services provided by a kinship navigator service provider.
“Department” means the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
“Employment agency” means any person or entity that procures, or attempts to procure, any workers for referral to a third party.
“Hiring entity” means any employer, as defined in section 1 of P.L.1965, c.173 (C.34:11-4.1), who employs a domestic worker and also means any person, firm, business, partnership, association, corporation, limited liability company, or other entity, including referral, employment, and internet based or on-demand platforms, that provides compensation directly or indirectly to a domestic worker for the performance of domestic services and any person or persons acting directly or indirectly in the interest of the employer in relation to the domestic worker.
“Live-in domestic worker” includes any individuals, who, as part of their employment, reside in the personal residence of the employer.
“Referral agency” means any person or entity that procures, or attempts to procure, directly or indirectly through placement in a physical or virtual labor pool:
(1) employees; and
(2) after the procurement does not continue involvement in the terms of exchange of domestic services with the employees in any way, with the exception of the following:
(a) continuing to display, host, or advertise, either through physical means or virtual means, the workers’ contact information, job qualifications, resume, image, or digital profile which employers or clients can use to independently contact employees about employment; or
(b) removing, either through physical means or virtual means, the workers’ contact information, job qualifications, resume, image, or digital profile, which employers or clients can use to independently contact employees, upon the mandate of any federal, State, or local laws.
“Remuneration for work” means compensation due to the work of a domestic worker, payable in legal tender of the United States or checks on banks convertible into cash on demand at full face value, subject to any deductions, charges, or allowances as may be permitted by rules of the department.
“Written” or “writing” means a printed or printable communication in physical or electronic form, including a communication that is transmitted through email, text message, or a computer system, or is otherwise sent and maintained electronically.
34:11-71. Domestic worker, casual work, work less than five hours per month, prohibited unless governed by written contract
a. No hiring entity shall employ or engage a domestic worker, except for casual work or work of less than five hours per month, unless the engagement is governed by a written contract governing the following: a specific list of job duties; hourly wage and overtime wage; weekly schedule including number of hours per week; the manner and frequency of payment; breaks for rest and meals; paid or unpaid leave including sick time; paid holidays; any other benefits provided; modes of transportation required and whether provided; value of housing if provided; sleeping period and personal time for live-in workers; the term of the contract; and any other terms and conditions as agreed upon by the domestic worker and employer or as mandated pursuant to this act. The written agreement shall be signed and dated by all parties after ample opportunity to review.
b. The written agreement required under this section shall not be construed to waive the protections of domestic workers under federal, State, and local laws and shall not contain any:
(1) Mandatory pre-dispute arbitration agreement for claims made by a covered domestic worker against a domestic work hiring entity regarding the local rights of the worker; and
(2) Non-disclosure agreement, or non-competition or non-disparagement agreement, limiting the ability of the covered domestic worker to seek compensation for performing domestic services after the worker ceases to receive compensation from the domestic work hiring entity for the performance of domestic services.
c. The agreement shall be in English and such other language as may be preferred by the worker. The hiring entity shall make reasonable efforts to determine if the worker would prefer the agreement to be in another language.
d. The department shall make available model contracts complying with this act shall in multiple languages on its Internet website.
e. A referral and employment agency shall provide domestic workers and hiring entities with information concerning the contract requirements of this act at the time a hiring entity is connected with a worker and shall make any model contracts adopted by the department available to the hiring entity.
34:11-72. Domestic worker, uninterrupted paid rest period
a. An employer of a domestic worker shall allow the domestic worker an uninterrupted paid rest period of not less than ten minutes for each four consecutive hours worked, unless the nature of the work prevents the domestic worker from being relieved of all duties for such period of time, such as some types of child care and caretaker work for a sick, elderly or disabled person. In those types of work where the domestic worker is not relieved of all work duties, an “on-duty” rest period shall be provided. The employer shall pay the domestic worker for the time spent on a rest break at the domestic worker’s regular rate of pay.
b. The employer shall allow an uninterrupted 30-minute meal break after more than five consecutive hours worked. Unless the domestic worker is relieved of all work duties during such 30-minute period and is permitted to leave the work site during that break, the meal period shall be considered an “on-duty” meal period and shall be paid at the domestic worker’s regular rate of pay.
c. An “on-duty” meal or rest period shall be permitted only when the nature of the work prevents a domestic worker from being relieved of all duties and when, by written agreement between the parties, an “on-duty” meal or rest period is agreed to. The agreement may be revoked by the domestic worker, in writing, at any time. The domestic worker may, to the extent possible given the domestic worker’s duties for the employer, engage in personal activities, such as resting, eating a meal, drinking a beverage, making a personal telephone call, or making other personal choices during “on-duty” meal or rest periods.
d. The employer shall not impede or discourage a domestic worker from taking any meal or rest breaks.
e. In the case of a violation of this section, the domestic work employer involved shall be liable to the domestic worker for an amount equal to one hour of pay at the domestic worker’s regular rate of compensation, but not more than two hours of such pay, for each workday that the meal or rest period was not provided. The department shall determine through the agency’s complaint and adjudication process whether or not violations occurred by the employer and whether or not the domestic worker is entitled to the remedy.
34:11-73. Live-in domestic worker, work more than six consecutive days, same employer, without 24-hour rest, prohibited
A “live-in” domestic worker shall not be required to work more than six consecutive days for the same employer without a 24-hour period of rest, which may be unpaid.
34:11-74. Domestic worker employer, minimum two-week notification before termination; live-in domestic worker employer, minimum four-week notification before termination
a. An employer of a domestic worker shall provide a minimum two-week notification period before termination of employment, and for live-in domestic workers a minimum four-week notification period before termination of employment.
b. The employer may terminate the employment without complying with the full notification period based on a good-faith belief and without reckless disregard or willful ignorance of the truth that the domestic worker has engaged in significant misconduct.
c. Failure to provide notification as required under this section shall entitle the domestic worker to severance pay in the amount of the worker’s regular hourly rate multiplied by the regular number of hours worked over the period of time during which the required notification was not provided.
d. As used in this section, the term “significant misconduct” means that the domestic worker abused, neglected, or caused any other harmful conduct against the employer, members of the employer’s family, or individuals residing in the employer’s household.
e. The notification requirement in this section shall not apply if:
(1) a domestic worker completes placement in a particular position and is not immediately placed or scheduled for another position by an employer if the employer is a temporary help service firm, employment agency, or other staffing or placement agency, health care service firm, home health agency, or hospice provider, but the domestic worker remains on the employer’s payroll for future placement opportunities; or
(2) a domestic worker is employed by an employer that is an individual and not a temporary help service firm, employment agency, or other staffing or placement agency, health care service firm, home health agency, or hospice provider, whether or not the employer is the person receiving care from the domestic worker, and the domestic worker completes or fulfills all duties of the position, and there is no longer a practicable need for the position, including, but not limited to, if the domestic worker’s employer is an individual who has employed the domestic worker to care for a person who is terminally ill and the terminally ill person passes away.
34:11-75. Domestic worker, personal records, information, monitoring
No hiring entity shall:
a. Keep or hold the original copies of any personal documents of a domestic worker;
b. Monitor or record, through any means, the activities of a domestic worker:
(1) using any bathroom or similar facility;
(2) in the living quarters of a domestic worker; or
(3) while the worker is engaged in any activities associated with dressing or changing clothes; or
c. Monitor, record, or interfere with the private communications of a domestic worker.
34:11-76. Hiring entity, domestic worker, notification of rights, information, complaint, violation of rights
a. A hiring entity shall provide to a domestic worker notification of the rights of domestic workers under P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.), and information on how to file a complaint for violation of these rights, as shall be determined by the department by regulation.
b. A hiring entity shall create and maintain records documenting hours worked, pay rate, meals and rest breaks, leave time earned and used, if applicable, and the existence of a written agreement, all pursuant to requirements established by regulation by the department. If a hiring entity does not maintain the required records or does not allow the department reasonable access to the records, an adverse inference may be drawn with respect to facts alleged regarding the issues about which records were not kept.
c. The department shall maintain the confidentiality of all records it obtains in connection with enforcement activities to the full extent permitted by law.
34:11-77. Hiring entity, domestic worker, interfere, restrain, deny exercise of, attempt, rights, prohibited; actions considered retaliation
a. It shall be unlawful for a hiring entity or any other person to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right set forth in P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.).
b. The minimum requirements of sections 13 through 18 of P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-71 through 34:11-76) shall be deemed incorporated into any contract, whether actual or implied, between the employer and the domestic worker.
c. A material breach by a hiring entity of a contract with a domestic worker shall constitute a violation of P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.), without regard to whether the breach is of a provision required by this act.
d. No hiring entity or any other person shall take or threaten retaliatory action against any person because a domestic worker has exercised rights or pursued a claim of violation under P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.). These rights include the right to demand compliance with protections established by written agreement; the right to file a complaint or inform any person about an employer’s alleged violation of this act; the right to cooperate with the department in any investigation pursuant to this act; and the right to inform any person of the rights established under this act.
e. No hiring entity or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.) the willingness or intent to contact, report to, or to make an implied or express assertion to report to a government agency regarding the suspected citizenship or immigration status of a domestic worker or family member of a domestic worker because the worker has or has expressed an intent to exercise rights protected under this act or because of a belief the worker may do so.
f. The protections of this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges a violation of P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.).
g. It shall be considered a rebuttable presumption of retaliation if the hiring entity or any other person takes an adverse action against a domestic worker within 90 calendar days of the worker’s exercise of rights protected in P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.). However, in the case of temporary or seasonal employment that ended before the close of the 90-calendar-day period, the presumption also applies if the hiring entity fails to rehire a former domestic worker at the next opportunity for work in the same position. The hiring entity may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. If a domestic worker declines to be rehired for the same position or resigns from the position, the presumption in this subsection g. shall not apply.
h. Proof of retaliation under P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.) shall be sufficient upon a showing that the hiring entity or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the persons exercise or rights protected in P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.) was a motivating factor in the absence of that protected activity.
i. A complaint or other communication by any person triggers the protection of P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.) regardless of whether the complaint or communication is in writing or makes explicit reference to P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.).
34:11-78. Guidelines, regulations promulgated
The department shall promulgate appropriate guidelines and regulations to effectuate the purposes of P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.).
34:11-79. Overlapping employment relationship, domestic worker, subject to joint, several liability, concurrent fines, penalties
a. Individuals and employers with an overlapping employment relationship with a domestic worker are subject to joint and several liability, and concurrent fines and penalties, in connection with P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.).
b. A domestic worker or other person representing a domestic worker may report to the department any suspected violation of P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.).
c. The department shall take any steps as it deems appropriate to resolve complaints and enforce P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.), including, but not limited to, establishing a system to receive complaints regarding noncompliance with P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.), investigating alleged violations in a timely manner and resolving complaints through a separate “referral” process for claims of domestic workers.
d. The department shall have the power to subpoena records and testimony from any party to a complaint. The records shall be provided to the department within 30 days after receipt of the subpoena.
e. Any person alleging a violation of P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.) shall file a complaint with the department within two years of the date that the person knew or should have known of the alleged violation.
f. Upon establishment of a system of administrative adjudication, the department shall have the power to impose the penalties and fines for a violation of P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.), and to provide or obtain appropriate relief. Remedies may include reinstatement and full restitution to the domestic worker for lost wages and benefits, including presumed damages to be awarded to a domestic worker for the hiring entity’s or employer’s violation of P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.). The department shall determine by regulation an amount of presumed damages.
g. A hiring entity or an employer who knowingly retaliates against an employee for any activity protected under P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.), or any other knowing violation of P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.), shall be a crime of the fourth degree. Otherwise, it shall be a disorderly persons offense and the hiring entity or employer shall, upon conviction for a violation, be punished by a fine of not less than $100 not more than $2,000 for an initial violation and not less than $200 nor more than $4,000 for each subsequent violation. Each day during which any violation of P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.) continues shall constitute a separate and distinct offense, and the employment of any domestic worker in violation of P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.), shall, with respect to each domestic worker employed, constitute a separate and violation.
h. Any domestic worker or person who is aggrieved by a violation of P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.), or the department may bring civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against a hiring entity or an employer violating P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.). Nothing in P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.) or its implementing regulations shall be construed to require a complaint to be filed with the department before bringing an action in court. Upon prevailing in an action brought pursuant to this section, an aggrieved person shall be entitled to any legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation, that is not duplicative of any relief provided to the person in administrative proceedings, including, without limitation, reinstatement in employment, back pay, and injunctive relief. The aggrieved person shall be entitled to an award of reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.
34:11-80. “Domestic Work Enforcement Program” established
a. The department shall, upon appropriation of funds to the department for purposes of this section, establish and maintain a Domestic Work Enforcement Program in collaboration with qualified organizations. P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.) requires the department to issue a competitive request to community-based organizations (CBOs) to provide education and outreach services in this program and would prescribe requirements for these organizations. The CBOs would be responsible for developing and consulting with the department regarding the core education and outreach materials, as specified. The program shall increase the capacity and expertise of the department to improve education and enforcement of labor standards in the domestic work industry. The program shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) Education and training for domestic work employees and employers addressing minimum wage, overtime, sick leave, recordkeeping, wage adjudication, and retaliation, along with new rights extended by P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.);
(2) Training for domestic worker leaders to provide peer-to-peer support and wraparound service referrals to domestic work employees who have elected to file wage claims or take other actions seeking remedy from hiring entities or employers;
(3) Development of core training curriculum to be used in the education and training of domestic work employees and employers;
(4) Provision of technical and legal assistance to domestic work employees through a Statewide telephone help line and the promotion of the help line to domestic worker populations; and
(5) Development of an online resource hub to provide information for employers on State labor laws and guidelines on fair employment.
b. Qualified organizations that collaborate under subsection a. of this section shall issue reports and meet quarterly with the department to review the implementation and success of the program.
c. (1) A nonprofit organization that has a minimum of five years of experience working with domestic work employees or employers; or
(2) An organization that works with nonprofit organizations that has a minimum of five years of experience working with domestic work employees or employers.
34:11-81. Construction of act; severability
a. Nothing in P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.) shall be construed to diminish any rights or protections granted to domestic workers by any other law.
b. If any provision of P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.) or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.), which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of P.L.2023, c.262 (C.34:11-69 et al.) are severable.