As we reported last year, the Division of Wage and Hour Compliance at the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development rejected federal “rounding” rules for enforcement purposes under New Jersey law. Specifically, while the U.S. Department of Labor assesses the impact of rounding “over a period of time” (and allows rounding practices that “average out” over time), the Division announced that it would evaluate the impact of rounding on a week-to-week basis. According to the Division, if an employer rounds, it must be to the benefit of the employee each week in order to comply with New Jersey law.

It appears that the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development may be reconsidering its position. The Deputy Commissioner of the Department directed his staff to prepare a notice of proposal for new rules within the New Jersey Administrative Code which would adopt the federal rounding standard. Of course, change takes time. In order to make this change, the Department must undergo full notice and comment rule-making, including the publication of a notice of proposal in the New Jersey Register, the solicitation of comments from the public, and the holding of a public hearing. In the meantime, the Department may still take the enforcement position that rounding practices must be evaluated on a week-to-week basis. We will continue to monitor developments.

This entry was written by Robert Pritchard.