Requires employers to include in job posting whether posting is for existing position and sets additional job posting requirements.
Summary
S2136 would regulate how employers and third-party job posting companies advertise jobs in New Jersey. The bill requires public job postings to disclose whether the posting is for an existing vacancy or an anticipated vacancy, and if it is not for an existing vacancy, to include a disclaimer and meet certain conditions tied to the employer’s recent hiring or repeated posting history. It also adds special disclosure rules for seasonal positions and for temporary help service firms or consulting firms posting anticipated openings.
The bill further requires employers to remove postings for filled positions within a specified time and requires third-party job posting companies to remove posts once they know, or should know, that a position has been filled or expired. It authorizes the Department of Labor and Workforce Development to audit compliance, establishes a warning-and-cure process, and sets civil penalties for continued violations. The bill defines key terms such as employer, filled position, and third-party job posting company, and delays its effective date until the first day of the 13th month after enactment.
Impact
The bill would supplement Title 34 of the Revised Statutes by creating new statewide job-posting disclosure and removal requirements for employers with more than 10 employees, including the State and its political subdivisions. It would impose compliance obligations on employers and third-party job boards, while limiting employer liability for postings independently maintained by third parties outside the employer’s control. The Department of Labor and Workforce Development would gain enforcement authority through audits, warnings, and civil penalties under the Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999.
Sentiment
The bill appears generally supportive of transparency in hiring and is framed as a response to so-called ghost jobs, which the findings say burden job seekers and undermine trust in employers. The legislative findings emphasize fairness, labor-market efficiency, and the need for accurate postings, suggesting a policy goal of improving hiring integrity rather than restricting legitimate recruitment. No committee transcript or vote record was provided, so there is no recorded floor or committee sentiment beyond the bill text itself.
Contention
The main points of contention are likely to be the burden on employers and job platforms versus the benefit to applicants. The bill tries to address that tension by allowing anticipated-vacancy postings in limited circumstances, creating separate rules for seasonal and temporary-help postings, and exempting employers from liability for third-party reposting they did not create, control, or request. Another likely issue is enforcement complexity, including how to determine when a posting should be removed, whether an employer “should reasonably be aware” of a third-party post, and how to apply penalties without multiplying violations across multiple platforms.