New Jersey Restores Its Exemption for Commissioned Sales Employees
As we reported earlier, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DLWD)amended its wage and hour regulations in September 2011 to eliminate inconsistencies between state and federal overtime law. In so doing, the DLWD inadvertently omitted the exemption for commissioned sales employees, commonly referred to as the “inside sales” exemption, from the amendment. The DLWD’s mistake, which it acknowledged was inadvertent, potentially put employers at risk for misclassification lawsuits.
Now, however, the DLWD has corrected its error, and on February 21, 2012, the exemption was fully restored. The regulation now defines “administrative” employee to include an employee whose: (1) primary duty is sales; (2) total compensation is comprised of at least 50% commissions; and (3) total compensation is $400 or more per week.
Notably, the restored New Jersey “inside sales” exemption differs from the exemptions available under federal law. As a result, employers should carefully analyze whether their commissioned sales employees qualify as exempt under both state and federal law.
Employers faced with wage and hour litigation often seek to condition settlement on the agreement of plaintiffs to keep the settlement and its terms confidential. Confidentiality is often an important condition of settlement because employers may hope to avoid “copycat” claims by other employees and face the possibility that disclosure of a wage and hour settlement may be viewed by the public as an “admission” of liability..jpg)
On December 23, 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in .jpg)
On November 16, 2011, the New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed a finding that registered nurses who were paid on an hourly basis were exempt from the overtime requirements of the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law (“NJWHL”), even though the 
In 2009, New Jersey passed a law requiring the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (“DLWD”) to issue regulations providing that any employer who is required to maintain and report records regarding wages, benefits, and taxes pursuant to state law “shall conspicuously post notification” of the obligation to maintain and report those records.
There has been an important change in New Jersey law which may require employers to take immediate action: In recent amendments to its overtime regulations, New Jersey eliminated the exemption for sales employees paid on commission, which closely tracked an exemption in Section 7(i) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (sometimes known as the “inside sales” exemption). Because New Jersey law is now more protective than the FLSA, at present, it appears likely that employers cannot classify commissioned inside sales employees as exempt from overtime pay.
There is good news for New Jersey employers who utilize rounding. The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development has reconsidered its .jpg)
On July 19, 2010, in 
As we 
Several new wage and hour bills made it through various state legislatures during the second half of the year. Below is a wrap up of some new developments (including regulatory updates) from July 1st through December 31st. Click 
