New Jersey Labor and Workforce Development, Division of Wage and Hour Compliance announced that the state’s minimum wage rate of $8.38 per hour will remain unchanged for 2016. As previously shared in our CPC blog, New Jersey passed a new law (Bill SCR 1) during the 2014 legislative session, amending its constitution. Under the enacted bill, New Jersey must annually adjust the minimum wage rate based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), effective January 1, 2015. Due to this year’s (September 1, 2014 to August 21, 2015) percent decline, the Department’s Division of Economic and Demographic Research determined that there will be no annual adjustment to the state minimum hourly wage rate for 2016.
Employers must be aware that the minimum wage rate may increase as of January 1, 2017 and in future years, depending on any percentage increase during the one-year period of the CPI.