New Jersey law regarding overtime pay is in Title 34, Chapter 11, Article 2 of the New Jersey Code in the sections below.

• 34:11-56a1 Definitions.
• 34:11-56a3. Employment at unreasonable wage declared contrary to public policy; contract or agreement void
• 34:11-56a4. Overtime/Minimum wage rate; exemptions
• 34:11-56a4.1. Summer camps, conferences and retreats; exception
• 34:11-56a20. Records of wages and hours
• 34:11-56a25.1. Limitations; commencement of action
• 34:11-56a25.2. Defense to action
• 34:11-56a31. Hours of work and overtime for certain health care facility employees; Policy.
• 34:11-56a32. Work hours & overtime, Certain health care facility employees; Definitions.
• 34:11-56a31-33. Health care facility employees, Work contracts as to overtime requirements; Validity of.
• 34:11-56a34. Health care facility employees, Maximum hours and overtime; Applicability; Overtime requirements in time of emergencies; Recordkeeping requirements.

1.As used in this act:

(a)"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Labor.

(b)"Director" means the director in charge of the bureau referred to in section 3 of this act.

(c)"Wage board" means a board created as provided in section 10 of this act.

(d)"Wages" means any moneys due an employee from an employer for services rendered or made available by the employee to the employer as a result of their employment relationship including commissions, bonus and piecework compensation and including any gratuities received by an employee for services rendered for an employer or a customer of an employer and the fair value of any food or lodgings supplied by an employer to an employee. The commissioner may, by regulation, establish the average value of gratuities received by an employee in any occupation and the fair value of food and lodging provided to employees in any occupation, which average values shall be acceptable for the purposes of determining compliance with this act in the absence of evidence of the actual value of such items.

(e)"Regular hourly wage" means the amount that an employee is regularly paid for each hour of work as determined by dividing the total hours of work during the week into the employee's total earnings for the week, exclusive of overtime premium pay.

(f)"Employ" includes to suffer or to permit to work.

(g)"Employer" includes any individual, partnership, association, corporation or any person or group of persons acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an employee.

(h)"Employee" includes any individual employed by an employer.

(i)"Occupation" means any occupation, service, trade, business, industry or branch or group of industries or employment or class of employment in which employees are gainfully employed.

(j)"Minimum fair wage order" means a wage order promulgated pursuant to this act.

(k)"Fair wage" means a wage fairly and reasonably commensurate with the value of the service or class of service rendered and sufficient to meet the minimum cost of living necessary for health.

(l)"Oppressive and unreasonable wage" means a wage which is both less than the fair and reasonable value of the service rendered and less than sufficient to meet the minimum cost of living necessary for health.

(m) "Limousine" means a motor vehicle used in the business of carrying passengers for hire to provide prearranged passenger transportation at a premium fare on a dedicated, nonscheduled, charter basis that is not conducted on a regular route and with a seating capacity in no event of more than 14 passengers, not including the driver, provided, that such a motor vehicle shall not have a seating capacity in excess of four passengers, not including the driver, beyond the maximum passenger seating capacity of the vehicle, not including the driver, at the time of manufacture. "Limousine" shall not include taxicabs, hotel or airport shuttles and buses, buses employed solely in transporting school children or teachers to and from school, vehicles owned and operated directly or indirectly by businesses engaged in the practice of mortuary science when those vehicles are used exclusively for providing transportation related to the provision of funeral services or vehicles owned and operated without charge or remuneration by a business entity for its own purposes.

34:11-56a2. Bureau for administration of act; director and assistants

The commissioner shall maintain a bureau in the department to which the administration of this act, and of any minimum wage orders or regulations promulgated hereunder, shall be assigned, said bureau to consist of a director in charge and such assistants and employees as the commissioner may deem desirable.

34:11-56a3. Employment at unreasonable wage declared contrary to public policy; contract or agreement void

The employment of an employee in any occupation in this State at an oppressive and unreasonable wage is hereby declared to be contrary to public policy and any contract, agreement or understanding for or in relation to such employment shall be void.

34:11-56a4. Overtime/Minimum wage rate; exemptions

Every employer shall pay to each of his employees wages at a rate of not less than $5.05 per hour as of April 1, 1992 and, after January 1, 1999 the minimum hourly wage rate set by section 6(a)(1) of the federal "Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938" (29 U.S.C. s.206(a)(1)) for 40 hours of working time in any week and 1 1/2 times such employee's regular hourly wage for each hour of working time in excess of 40 hours in any week, except this overtime rate shall not include any individual employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity or, if an applicable wage order has been issued by the commissioner under section 17 (C.34:11-56a16) of this act, not less than the wages prescribed in said order. The wage rates fixed in this section shall not be applicable to part-time employees primarily engaged in the care and tending of children in the home of the employer, to persons under the age of 18 not possessing a special vocational school graduate permit issued pursuant to section 15 of P.L.1940, c.153 (C.34:2-21.15), or to persons employed as salesmen of motor vehicles, or to persons employed as outside salesmen as such terms shall be defined and delimited in regulations adopted by the commissioner, or to persons employed in a volunteer capacity and receiving only incidental benefits at a county or other agricultural fair by a nonprofit or religious corporation or a nonprofit or religious association which conducts or participates in that fair.

The provisions of this section for the payment to an employee of not less than 1 1/2 times such employee's regular hourly rate for each hour of working time in excess of 40 hours in any week shall not apply to employees engaged to labor on a farm or employed in a hotel or to an employee of a common carrier of passengers by motor bus or to a limousine driver who is an employee of an employer engaged in the business of operating limousines or to employees engaged in labor relative to the raising or care of livestock.

Employees engaged on a piece-rate or regular hourly rate basis to labor on a farm shall be paid for each day worked not less than the minimum hourly wage rate multiplied by the total number of hours worked.

Full-time students may be employed by the college or university at which they are enrolled at not less than 85% of the effective minimum wage rate.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this section to the contrary, every trucking industry employer shall pay to all drivers, helpers, loaders and mechanics for whom the Secretary of Transportation may prescribe maximum hours of work for the safe operation of vehicles, pursuant to section 31502(b) of the federal Motor Carrier Act, 49 U.S.C. s.31502(b), an overtime rate not less than 1 1/2 times the minimum wage required pursuant to this section and N.J.A.C. 12:56-3.1. Employees engaged in the trucking industry shall be paid no less than the minimum wage rate as provided in this section and N.J.A.C. 12:56-3.1. As used in this section, "trucking industry employer" means any business or establishment primarily operating for the purpose of conveying property from one place to another by road or highway, including the storage and warehousing of goods and property. Such an employer shall also be subject to the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Transportation pursuant to the federal Motor Carrier Act, 49 U.S.C. s.31501 et seq., whose employees are exempt under section 213(b)(1) of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. s.213(b)(1), which provides an exemption to employees regulated by section 207 of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. s.207, and the Interstate Commerce Act, 49 U.S.C. s.501 et al.

34:11-56a4.1. Summer camps, conferences and retreats; exception

The provisions of the act to which this act is a supplement in respect to minimum wages and compensation for overtime work shall not be applicable during the months of June, July, August or September of the year to summer camps, conferences and retreats operated by any nonprofit or religious corporation or association.

34:11-56a6. Authority of commissioner and director

The commissioner, the director and their authorized representatives shall have the authority to:

(a) investigate and ascertain the wages of persons employed in any occupation in the State;

(b) enter and inspect the place of business or employment of any employer or employees in any occupation in the State, for the purpose of examining and inspecting any or all books, registers, payrolls and other records of any such employer that in any way relate to or have a bearing upon the question of wages, hours, and other conditions of employment of any such employees; copy any or all of such books, registers, payrolls, and other records as he or his authorized representative may deem necessary or appropriate; and question such employees for the purpose of ascertaining whether the provisions of this act and the orders and regulations issued hereunder have been and are being complied with; and

(c) require from such employer full and correct statements in writing, including sworn statements, with respect to wages, hours, names, addresses and such other information pertaining to his employees and their employment as the commissioner, the director or their authorized representatives may deem necessary or appropriate.

34:11-56a7. Investigation of occupation

The commissioner shall have the power, on his own motion, and it shall be his duty upon the petition of 50 or more residents of the State, to cause the director to investigate any occupation to ascertain whether a substantial number of employees are receiving less than a fair wage.

34:11-56a20. Records of wages and hours

21. Every employer of employees subject to this act shall keep a true and accurate record of the hours worked by each and the wages paid by him to each and shall furnish to the commissioner or the director or their authorized representative upon demand a sworn statement of the same. Such records shall be open to inspection by the commissioner or the director or their authorized representative at any reasonable time. No employer shall be found guilty of violating this provision for failure to keep a true and accurate record of the hours worked by outside salesmen, buyers of poultry, eggs, cream, milk or other perishable commodities in their natural or raw state, homeworkers legally employed in accordance with the laws of this State or any person employed in a bona fide executive, administrative or professional capacity, except that no exemption from record keeping pursuant to this section in regard to any person employed in a bona fide executive, administrative or professional capacity shall be construed to permit an employer to pay wages at a rate which violates the provisions of section 5 of P.L.1966, c.113 (C.34:11-56a4).

34:11-56a21. Summary of act, orders, and regulations; posting

Every employer subject to any provision of this act or of any regulations or orders issued under this act shall keep a summary of this act, approved by the commissioner, and copies of any applicable wage orders and regulations issued under this act, or a summary of such wage orders and regulations, posted in a conspicuous and accessible place in or about the premises wherein any person subject thereto is employed. Employers shall be furnished copies of such summaries, orders, and regulations by the State on request without charge.

34:11-56a22. Violations; penalties

Any employer who willfully hinders or delays the commissioner, the director or their authorized representatives in the performance of his duties in the enforcement of this act, or fails to make, keep, and preserve any records as required under the provisions of this act, or falsifies any such record, or refuses to make any such record accessible to the commissioner, the director or their authorized representatives upon demand, or refuses to furnish a sworn statement of such record or any other information required for the proper enforcement of this act to the commissioner, the director or their authorized representatives upon demand, or pays or agrees to pay wages at a rate less than the rate applicable under this act or any wage order issued pursuant thereto, or otherwise violates any provision of this act or of any regulation or order issued under this act shall be guilty of a disorderly persons offense and shall, upon conviction for a first violation, be punished by a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for not less than 10 nor more than 90 days or by both the fine and imprisonment and, upon conviction for a second or subsequent violation, be punished by a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for not less than 10 nor more than 100 days or by both the fine and imprisonment. Each week, in any day of which an employee is paid less than the rate applicable to him under this act or under a minimum fair wage order, and each employee so paid, shall constitute a separate offense.

As an alternative to or in addition to any other sanctions provided by law for violations of the "New Jersey State Wage and Hour Law," P.L.1966, c.113 (C.34:11-56a et seq.), when the Commissioner of Labor finds that an individual has violated that act, the commissioner is authorized to assess and collect administrative penalties, up to a maximum of $250 for a first violation and up to a maximum of $500 for each subsequent violation, specified in a schedule of penalties to be promulgated as a rule or regulation by the commissioner in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.). When determining the amount of the penalty imposed because of a violation, the commissioner shall consider factors which include the history of previous violations by the employer, the seriousness of the violation, the good faith of the employer and the size of the employer's business. No administrative penalty shall be levied pursuant to this section unless the Commissioner of Labor provides the alleged violator with notification of the violation and of the amount of the penalty by certified mail and an opportunity to request a hearing before the commissioner or his designee within 15 days following the receipt of the notice. If a hearing is requested, the commissioner shall issue a final order upon such hearing and a finding that a violation has occurred. If no hearing is requested, the notice shall become a final order upon expiration of the 15-day period. Payment of the penalty is due when a final order is issued or when the notice becomes a final order. Any penalty imposed pursuant to this section may be recovered with costs in a summary proceeding commenced by the commissioner pursuant to "the penalty enforcement law" (N.J.S.2A:58-1 et seq.). Any sum collected as a fine or penalty pursuant to this section shall be applied toward enforcement and administration costs of the Division of Workplace Standards in the Department of Labor.

34:11-56a24. Penalty for violation

Any employer who discharges or in any other manner discriminates against any employee because such employee has made any complaint to his employer, to the commissioner, the director or to their authorized representatives that he has not been paid wages in accordance with the provisions of this act, or because such employee has caused to be instituted or is about to cause to be instituted any proceeding under or related to this act, or because such employee has testified or is about to testify in any such proceeding, or because such employee has served or is about to serve on a wage board, shall be guilty of a disorderly persons offense and shall, upon conviction therefor, be fined not less than $100 nor more than $1,000. Such employer shall be required, as a condition of such judgment of conviction, to offer reinstatement in employment to any such discharged employee and to correct any such discriminatory action, and also to pay to any such employee in full, all wages lost as a result of such discharge or discriminatory action, under penalty of contempt proceedings for failure to comply with such requirement.

As an alternative to or in addition to any other sanctions provided by law for violations of P.L.1966, c.113 (C.34:11-56a et seq.), when the Commissioner of Labor finds that an employer has violated that act, the commissioner is authorized to assess and collect administrative penalties, up to a maximum of $250 for a first violation and up to a maximum of $500 for each subsequent violation, specified in a schedule of penalties to be promulgated as a rule or regulation by the commissioner in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.). When determining the amount of the penalty imposed because of a violation, the commissioner shall consider factors which include the history of previous violations by the employer, the seriousness of the violation, the good faith of the employer and the size of the employer's business. No administrative penalty shall be levied pursuant to this section unless the Commissioner of Labor provides the alleged violator with notification of the violation and of the amount of the penalty by certified mail and an opportunity to request a hearing before the commissioner or his designee within 15 days following the receipt of the notice. If a hearing is requested, the commissioner shall issue a final order upon such hearing and a finding that a violation has occurred. If no hearing is requested, the notice shall become a final order upon expiration of the 15-day period. Payment of the penalty is due when a final order is issued or when the notice becomes a final order. Any penalty imposed pursuant to this section may be recovered with costs in a summary proceeding commenced by the commissioner pursuant to "the penalty enforcement law" (N.J.S.2A:58-1 et seq.). Any sum collected as a fine or penalty pursuant to this section shall be applied toward enforcement and administration costs of the Division of Workplace Standards in the Department of Labor.

34:11-56a25. Civil action by employee to recover amount of minimum wage less amount paid

If any employee is paid by an employer less than the minimum fair wage to which such employee is entitled under the provisions of this act or by virtue of a minimum fair wage order such employee may recover in a civil action the full amount of such minimum wage less any amount actually paid to him or her by the employer together with costs and such reasonable attorney's fees as may be allowed by the court, and any agreement between such employee and the employer to work for less than such minimum fair wage shall be no defense to the action. An employee shall be entitled to maintain such action for and on behalf of himself or other employees similarly situated, and such employee and employees may designate an agent or representative to maintain such action for and on behalf of all employees similarly situated. At the request of any employee paid less than the minimum wage to which such employee was entitled under the provisions of this act or under an order, the commissioner may take an assignment of the wage claim in trust for the assigning employee and may bring any legal action necessary to collect the claim, and the employer shall be required to pay the costs and such reasonable attorney's fees as may be allowed by the court.

34:11-56a25.1. Limitations; commencement of action

No claim for unpaid minimum wages, unpaid overtime compensation, or other damages under this act shall be valid with respect to any such claim which has arisen more than 2 years prior to the commencement of an action for the recovery thereof. In determining when an action is commenced, the action shall be considered to be commenced on the date when a complaint is filed with the Commissioner of the Department of Labor and Industry or the Director of the Wage and Hour Bureau, and notice of such complaint is served upon the employer; or, where an audit by the Department of Labor and Industry discloses a probable cause of action for unpaid minimum wages, unpaid overtime compensation, or other damages, and notice of such probable cause of action is served upon the employer by the Director of the Wage and Hour Bureau; or where a cause of action is commenced in a court of appropriate jurisdiction.

34:11-56a25.2. Defense to action

In any action or proceeding commenced prior to or on or after the date of the enactment of this act based on any act or omission prior to or on or after the date of the enactment of this act, no employer shall be subject to any liability or punishment for or on account of the failure of the employer to pay minimum wages or overtime compensation under this act, if he pleads and proves that the act or omission complained of was in good faith in conformity with and in reliance on any written administrative regulation, order, ruling, approval or interpretation by the Commissioner of the Department of Labor and Industry or the Director of the Wage and Hour Bureau, or any administrative practice or enforcement policy of such department or bureau with respect to the class of employers to which he belonged. Such a defense, if established, shall be a complete bar to the action or proceeding, notwithstanding, that after such act or omission, such administrative regulation, order, ruling, approval, interpretation, practice, or enforcement policy is modified or rescinded or is determined by judicial authority to be invalid or of no legal effect.

34:11-56a26. Protection of right to collective bargaining

Nothing in this act shall be deemed to interfere with, impede, or in any way diminish the right of employees to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing in order to establish wages in excess of the applicable minima under this act.

34:11-56a31. Hours of work and overtime for certain health care facility employees; Policy.

It is declared to be the public policy of this State to establish a maximum work week for certain hourly wage health care facility employees, beyond which the employees cannot be required to perform overtime work, in order to safeguard their health, efficiency, and general well-being as well as the health and general well-being of the persons to whom these employees provide services.

34:11-56a32. Work hours & overtime, Certain health care facility employees; Definitions.
As used in this act:

"Employee" means an individual employed by a health care facility who is involved in direct patient care activities or clinical services and who receives an hourly wage, but shall not include a physician.

"Employer" means an individual, partnership, association, corporation or person or group of persons acting directly or indirectly in the interest of a health care facility.

"Health care facility" means a health care facility licensed by the Department of Health and Senior Services pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.), a State or county psychiatric hospital, a State developmental center, or a health care service firm registered by the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety pursuant to P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.).

"On-call time" means time spent by an employee who is not currently working on the premises of the place of employment, but who is compensated for availability, or as a condition of employment has agreed to be available, to return to the premises of the place of employment on short notice if the need arises.

"Reasonable efforts" means that the employer shall: a. seek persons who volunteer to work extra time from all available qualified staff who are working at the time of the unforeseeable emergent circumstance; b. contact all qualified employees who have made themselves available to work extra time; c. seek the use of per diem staff; and d. seek personnel from a contracted temporary agency when such staff is permitted by law or regulation.

"Unforeseeable emergent circumstance" means an unpredictable or unavoidable occurrence at unscheduled intervals relating to health care delivery that requires immediate action.

34:11-56a31-33. Health care facility employees, Work contracts as to overtime requirements; Validity of.

The requirement that an employee of a health care facility accept work in excess of an agreed to, predetermined and regularly scheduled daily work shift, not to exceed 40 hours per week, except in the case of an unforeseeable emergent circumstance when the overtime is required only as a last resort and is not used to fill vacancies resulting from chronic short staffing and the employer has exhausted reasonable efforts to obtain staffing, is declared to be contrary to public policy and any such requirement contained in any contract, agreement or understanding executed or renewed after the effective date of this act1 shall be void.

34:11-56a34. Health care facility employees, Maximum hours and overtime; Applicability; Overtime requirements in time of emergencies; Recordkeeping requirements.

a. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no health care facility shall require an employee to accept work in excess of an agreed to, predetermined and regularly scheduled daily work shift, not to exceed 40 hours per week.

b. The acceptance by any employee of such work in excess of an agreed to, predetermined and regularly scheduled daily work shift, not to exceed 40 hours per week, shall be strictly voluntary and the refusal of any employee to accept such overtime work shall not be grounds for discrimination, dismissal, discharge or any other penalty or employment decision adverse to the employee.

c. The provisions of this section shall not apply in the case of an unforeseeable emergent circumstance when:

(1) the overtime is required only as a last resort and is not used to fill vacancies resulting from chronic short staffing, and

(2) the employer has exhausted reasonable efforts to obtain staffing. In the event of such an unforeseeable emergent circumstance, the employer shall provide the employee with necessary time, up to a maximum of one hour, to arrange for the care of the employee's minor children or elderly or disabled family members.

The requirement that the employer shall exhaust reasonable efforts to obtain staffing shall not apply in the event of any declared national, State or municipal emergency or a disaster or other catastrophic event which substantially affects or increases the need for health care services.

d. In the event that an employer requires an employee to work overtime pursuant to subsection c. of this section, the employer shall document in writing the reasonable efforts it has exhausted. The documentation shall be made available for review by the Department of Health and Senior Services and the Department of Labor.

34:11-56a35. Work hours & overtime, Certain health care facility employees; Employer violators.

An employer who violates the provisions of this act1 shall be subject to the sanctions provided by law for violations of the "New Jersey State Wage and Hour Law," P.L.1966, c.113 (C.34:11-56a et seq.).

34:11-56a36. Work hours & overtime, Certain health care facility employees; Applicability, Exemptions; Impact on collective bargaining agreements.

a. The provisions of this act1 shall not be construed to impair or negate any employer-employee collective bargaining agreement or any other employer-employee contract in effect on the effective date of this act.

b. The provisions of this act shall not apply to employees of assisted living facilities licensed by the Department of Health and Senior Services who are provided with room and board as a benefit of their employment and reside in the facility on a full-time basis.

c. The provisions of this act shall not apply to on-call time, but nothing in this act shall be construed to permit an employer to use on-call time as a substitute for mandatory overtime.

34:11-56a37. Work hours & overtime, Certain health care facility employees; Enforcement; Collection of data on impact of provisions.

The Departments of Health and Senior Services, Human Services, and Law and Public Safety shall each collect data from all health care facilities which the respective department licenses, operates or regulates, as to the potential impact of the mandatory overtime prohibition on employee availability and other considerations, and shall jointly report their findings to the Senate and General Assembly Health Committees within 18 months of the date of enactment of this act.[Sections 34:11-56a31--34:11-56a38.]

34:11-56a38. Work hours & overtime, Certain health care facility employees; Enforcement; Adoption of rules and regulations.

The Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Commissioners of Human Services and Labor, shall adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), within six months of the date of enactment of this act, to carry out the purposes of this act.