Signed by Governor Phil Murphy

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that establishes the office of strategic enforcement and compliance within the department of labor.

Highlights:

• Defines “commissioner” to mean the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development, or the commissioner’s designee (Sec. 1).

• Defines “department” to mean the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (Sec. 1).

• Defines “direct business assistance from the department” to mean monetary or financial assistance in any form, including but not limited to a grant or other monetary or financial benefit awarded to a person by the department to assist the person in the conduct or operation of a business, occupation, trade, or profession in the State, in connection with the following programs (Sec. 1):

• Customized training services;

• Employment and training services provided;

• Employment and training services funded by the Supplemental Workforce Fund for Basic Skills under section 1 of P.L.2001, c.152 (C.34:15D-21);

• Outreach and training programs for minority group members and women in construction trade occupations or other occupations utilized in the performance of public works contracts funded by the New Jersey Builders Utilization Initiative for Labor Diversity (NJBUILD) (C.52:38-7);

• The New Jersey Innovation and Research Fellowship Program (C.34:15D-26);

• The Apprenticeship Start-Up Grant Program (C.34:15D-6.1);

• The Apprentice Assistance and Support Services Pilot Program (C.34:15D-6.2);

• The New Jersey Pathways Leading Apprentices to a College Education (NJPLACE) Program (C.34:15D-24);

• Any other program funded in whole or in part by the Workforce Development Partnership Fund established under section 9 of P.L.1992, c.43 (C.34:15D-9);

• Any program funded by or through the Department in whole or in part under the “Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act,” (29 U.S.C. s.3101 et seq.);

• Any program funded by or through the Department in whole or in part under the “Wagner-Peyser Act,” (29 U.S.C. s.49 et seq.);

• The Talent Network Program (C.34:15D-29);

• The industry-valued Credentials pilot program (C.34:15D-30 et seq.);

• The High-Growth Industry Regional Apprenticeship Development Grant Pilot Program (C.34:15D-32);

• The Youth Transitions to Work Partnership (C.34:15E-1 et seq.);

• The At-Risk Youth Mentoring Program (C.34:15F-1 et seq.); and

• Any other similar program by which the department confers a monetary or financial benefit upon a person to assist the person in the conduct or operation of a business, occupation, trade or profession in the State.

• Establishes in the department an “Office of Strategic Enforcement and Compliance,” which oversees and coordinates across the divisions of the department and, when necessary, between the department and other State agencies and entities, strategic enforcement of State wage, benefit and tax laws, as deemed appropriate by the commissioner (Sec. 2).

• Establishes that each division within the department selected by the commissioner is to designate at least one employee whose duties include, among others, serving as a liaison with the “Office of Strategic Enforcement and Compliance” (Sec. 2).

• Requires that the commissioner devotes departmental resources, including those of the department’s Office of Research and Information, to support a data-driven approach to the work of the “Office of Strategic Enforcement and Compliance” (Sec. 2).

• Specifies that as a precondition to the award to a person of direct business assistance from the department, and as a precondition for the department to report to another State agency or entity that a business is in substantial good standing, the department is to determine whether the person has any outstanding liability to the department under any of the statutes or rules that the department enforces, including for unpaid contributions to the unemployment compensation fund or the State disability benefits fund; to any individual on whose behalf the department has issued a final order for the payment of wages or benefits; or for any penalties, fees or interest due the department according to a final order issued under any of the statutes or rules that the department enforces (Sec. 2).

• Specifies that if the department determines that a person has any outstanding liability to the department under any of the statutes or rules that the department enforces, the application by the person for direct business assistance from the department is to be denied, and reported to any inquiring State agency or entity that the business is not in substantial good standing (Sec. 2).

• Establishes that if a person is seeking the award of direct business assistance from the department, or where a report has been requested as to whether the person is in substantial good standing with the department, if the person has agreed with the department to immediately and fully comply with the statutes and rules enforced by the department and to resolve all delinquencies or deficiencies within a period specified by the commissioner, then the commissioner may approve the award of direct business assistance from the department, or issue a report that the person is in substantial good standing with the department, notwithstanding the outstanding liability to the department under any of the statutes or rules that the department enforces (Sec. 2).

• Requires that the “Office of Strategic Enforcement and Compliance” oversee and coordinate review processes good standing with the Department’s laws and rules (Sec. 2).

• Establishes that there is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, $1,000,000 to support and expand the “Office of Strategic Enforcement and Compliance” established within the department under this act (Sec. 3).

Full Bill Text