Last month, the New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development released New Jersey’s new pay equity notice in English and Spanish. For more on the posting and distribution requirements of the English and Spanish versions of the notice, see our December 16 and December 23 client alerts, respectively.

As noted in our past client alerts, whenever this notice is distributed to an employee, the employer must include an acknowledgment that the employee has received it, and has read and understood its terms. The acknowledgment must be signed by the employee, in writing or by means of electronic verification, and returned to the employer within 30 days of receipt. A few days ago, the Department issued acknowledgment forms in English and Spanish, and included those forms with the pay equity notices on the Department’s website. Neither the statute nor the final rules (which take effect today) reference issuance of these acknowledgment forms and the Department has not indicated that employers must use the exact acknowledgment forms posted on its website. Nevertheless, the forms issued by the Department are an indication of what the Department considers to be a compliant acknowledgment. Thus, if employers choose to create their own forms, it is advisable to include the substance of the forms issued by the Department.