On March 21, 2022 the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights (DCR) issued proposed regulations to allow employers to satisfy the state’s Law Against Discrimination (LAD) and Family Leave Act (NJFLA) poster requirements via electronic or other means rather than a physical bulletin board as employees are increasingly working from home or in places other than an employer’s worksite.
The proposed regulations would expand the current notice requirements by mandating that employers distribute copies of the posters to each employee upon request and annually. Employers would be permitted to satisfy these distribution requirements by providing the notices via email, through printed material, including, but not limited to, paycheck inserts; brochures or similar informational packet provided to new hires; an attachment to an employee manual or policy book; or flyer distributed at an employee meeting; or through an internet or intranet website, if the site is for the use of all employees, can be accessed by all employees, and the employer provides notice to the employees of its posting.
Next Steps for Employers
Absent a law or regulation permitting employers to provide posters electronically, particularly, for remote workers or where there is no physical work location, it is recommended that employers develop common standards for electronically distributing all state-mandated notices. Employers should follow best practices for providing notices to remote employees which would include ensuring that an electronic posting, whether by intranet site, shared network drive, or file system is as effective as a hard copy posting. Further, employers should take reasonable steps to inform employees of where and how to access the required postings to remain in compliance.
Public comments on the proposed rules may be submitted until May 20, 2022, after which the DCR will review the comments, potentially amend the proposed rules, and issue final regulations. Employers may submit comments electronically at: regulations@njcivilrights.gov.
HR Works will continue to monitor this topic and provide updated information as it becomes available.
