New Jersey NJ Law Prohibits Worker Misclassification Poster
The NJ Law Prohibits Worker Misclassification is a labor law posters poster by the New Jersey Department Of Labor and Workforce Development. This is an optional poster, so while it is recommended that you post this if it is relevant to your employees, you are not required to by the Department Of Labor and Workforce Development.
Updated 05/2020. This poster, MW-899, notifies employers and employees of their responsibilities regarding proper worker classification.
The poster educates employees about their rights to be correctly classified as am employee vs. as an independent contractor, includes details about how to correctly classify employees, and specifies what recourse is available to improperly classified employees.
NJ All-In-One Labor Poster: Instead of printing out dozens of posters, employers can also purchase an all-in-one poster that covers both New Jersey and Federal poster requirements by clicking here .
WHAT IS MISCLASSIFICATION? • Misclassification is the practice of an employer improperly classifying employees as independent contractors. • Misclassification may illegally deprive workers of basic rights, protections, and benefits guaranteed to employees such as the right to be paid the minimum wage, the right to overtime pay, time and mode of pay protections, the protection against illegal deductions from pay, unemployment compensation, temporary disability benefits, family leave insurance benefits, workers’ compensation, family leave and earned sick leave. • Often when workers are paid in cash “off the books”, it may be a method to hide misclassification or other employment related legal obligations. AM I AN EMPLOYEE OR AN INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR? • Under New Jersey’s Unemployment Compensation Law, Wage and Hour Law, Wage Payment Law, Wage Collection Law, Temporary Disability Benefits Law (including sections providing for Family Leave Insurance) and Earned Sick Leave Law, if you perform a service and are paid, you are presumed to be an employee, unless the employer can prove all three of the following: (A) You have been and will continue to be free from control or direction over performance of the service, both under a contract of service and in fact; and (B) The service is either outside the usual course of the business for which such service is performed, or the service is performed outside of all the places of business of the enterprise for which such service is performed; and (C) You are customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession or business. • This is referred to in New Jersey as the “ABC test” for independent contractor status. • Please go to www.myworkrights.nj.gov to learn about the factors considered for each of the three above tests. DO I HAVE TO PROVE THAT I AM AN EMPLOYEE? • No. If you worked and were paid, you are presumed to be an employee. It is the employer’s burden to show that all three parts of the ABC test are met. • If the employer can’t meet its burden to establish all three parts of the ABC test, then you are deemed to be an employee, entitled to the rights, protections, and benefits of an employee under the above-cited New Jersey laws. • If you believe you are misclassified, email [email protected]. DOES IT MATTER IF I RECEIVED AN IRS FORM 1099, AS OPPOSED TO IRS FORM W-2? • No. It does not matter which federal tax form the employer uses to report earnings. • What matters are the facts surrounding your working relationship with the employer and the application of the ABC test to those facts. IF MY EMPLOYER HAD ME SIGN AN INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR AGREEMENT BEFORE HIRING ME, DOES THAT MAKE ME AN INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR? • No. Your employment status is determined based on an analysis of all the facts surrounding your relationship with the employer under the ABC test. • NJ DOL would review the agreement you signed but your employment relationship would not be determined by this agreement alone. • New Jersey courts have ruled that to consider only the agreement, if one exists, and not the totality of the facts surrounding your relationship with the presumed employer, would be to “place form over substance,” which the courts say is wrong. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN IT IS FOUND BY A STATE AGENCY OR COURT THAT AN EMPLOYER HAS MISCLASSIFIED AN EMPLOYEE AS AN INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR? In addition to the award of a remedy or remedies to make the misclassified employee or the State agency whole for the employer’s violation of the underlying New Jersey wage, benefit or tax law (for example, the award of back pay to the misclassified employee who has been illegally deprived of the statutory minimum wage or overtime premium pay in violation of the State Wage and Hour law, or whose pay was subject to illegal deductions in violation of the State Wage Payment law), New Jersey law also empowers the Department of Labor and Workforce Development to take actions and impose penalties against an employer who has misclassified employees including: • A penalty paid by the employer to the misclassified employee of not more than 5 percent of the worker’s gross earnings over the past 12 months. • A penalty of up to $250 per misclassified employee for a first violation and up to $1,000 per misclassified employee for each subsequent violation. • For violation of State wage, benefit or tax laws in connection with the misclassification of employees, the imposition of › A stop-work order. › The suspension or revocation of any one or more licenses that are held by the employer and that are necessary to operate the employer’s business. › Additional penalties and fees payable to the Department and where wages are owed to the employee, an additional amount in liquidated damages payable to the employee equal to not more than 200 percent of the wages owed. AM I PROTECTED FROM RETALIATION BY MY EMPLOYER FOR REPORTING MISCLASSIFICATION? • Employees are protected from retaliation by their employers for having made an inquiry or complaint to the employer, to the Commissioner of Labor or to an authorized representative regarding any possible violation by the employer of any State wage, benefit or tax law, including those inquiries or complaints that involve misclassification, or because the employee caused to be instituted or is about to cause to be instituted any proceeding under or related to State wage, benefit or tax law, or because the employee has testified or is about to testify in such a proceeding. • Where such retaliation has occurred, the Department is authorized by law to issue an administrative penalty against the employer; however, only the courts are authorized by law to order reinstatement and/or back pay. New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development NEW JERSEY LAW PROHIBITS WORKER MISCLASSIFICATION NOTICE OF EMPLOYEE RIGHTS & EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITIES NJ.GOV/LABOR MW-899 (5/20) REPORTING MISCLASSIFICATION If you have been misclassified and would like to file a claim, you can do so here: https://wagehour.dol.state.nj.us/default.htm To seek further information: EMAIL: [email protected] CALL: 609-292-2321 FAX: 609-292-7801 WRITE: Employer Accounts Subject – Misclassification NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development 1 John Fitch Plaza P.O. Box 942 Trenton, NJ 08625-0942 • Whichever way you chose to reach out, multilingual staff will be able to assist you and translation assistance made available as needed • You can also visit www.myworkrights.nj.gov to learn more about misclassification. DISPLAY THIS POSTER IN A CONSPICUOUS PLACE
Other New Jersey Labor Law Posters 4 PDFS
There are an additional twenty optional and mandatory New Jersey labor law posters that may be relevant to your business. Be sure to also print all relevant state labor law posters, as well as all mandatory federal labor law posters.
View all 21 New Jersey labor law posters
Get a 2025 New Jersey all-in-one labor law poster
Instead of printing out pages of mandatory New Jersey and Federal labor law posters, you can purchase a professional, laminated all-in-one labor law poster that guarantees compliance with all New Jersey and federal posting requirements. Fully updated for 2025!
Get 2025 All-In-One Poster NowPoster Sources:
- Original poster PDF https://www.nj.gov/labor/wageandhour/assets/PDFs/Employer%20Poster%20Packet/mw-899_520_missclassification11x17.pdf , updated December 2022
- New Jersey Labor Law Posters at https://www.nj.gov/labor/wageandhour/tools-resources/forms-publications/employer-poster-packet/
- New Jersey Department Of Labor and Workforce Development
Disclaimer:
While we do our best to keep our list of New Jersey labor law posters up to date and complete, we cannot be held liable for errors or omissions. Is the poster on this page out-of-date or not working? Please let us know and we will fix it ASAP.