Staying compliant with such regulations is crucial to avoiding costly disruptions and fines. Repeated noncompliance can come across as willful and subsequently erode public trust in your firm. Now that all public bodies and public works contractors are required to register and report their certified payroll records, here's what you need to know about the NJ-certified payroll change and if your construction firm will be affected.
Overview of the NJ Certified Payroll Change
The NJ-certified payroll change mandates that construction contractors and subcontractors who work on public projects must make payroll records available to the public. Under New Jersey's Prevailing Wage Act, public works contractors must submit hard copies of weekly payroll records to the appropriate governing bodies in the state.
Effective August 15, 2024, this obligation is now extended to both hard copies and certified digital records uploaded to the NJ Wage Hub.
The goal of strengthening public works payroll compliance is to foster a greater sense of public trust. Free and instant access to payroll records via the NJ Wage Hub provides taxpayers, elected officials, researchers, and competing construction outfits with transparency and readily available data. This data helps stakeholders advocate for beneficial public policy and incentives such as higher compliance rates, bolstered worker protections, and transparency in other areas of government contracting.
Hard Copies and Digital Submissions Now Required
One of the chief goals of the NJ Wage Hub is to promote fair wage practices while increasing compliance with the Prevailing Wage Act. Required forms for public works contracts must be submitted to the NJ Wage Hub, in addition to any other agencies that request them.
Hard copies of payroll records need to be mailed to the appropriate governing bodies. In addition to this obligation, digital versions of the certified payroll records must also be uploaded to the NJ Wage Hub.
Under the Prevailing Wage Act, a "certified payroll record" is a payroll record attested to by the owner of the company or an authorized agent such as a corporate officer or outsourced payroll manager such as Exact Payroll.
Impact on New Jersey Public Works Contractors and Subcontractors
Public works contractors, subcontractors, and public bodies must already comply with the Prevailing Wage Act and the Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act. By regularly submitting certified payroll records through the NJ Wage Hub, making this act mandatory instead of voluntary now makes all construction firms working on New Jersey public works projects compliant with these laws.
Construction companies that are unable to submit certified payroll records through the NJ Wage Hub portal can submit them to equalpayact@dol.nj.gov prior to August 15, 2024.
However, utilizing NJ Wage Hub will now be mandated. If your firm is having difficulties going from legacy systems to digital-first payroll systems, it may mean a necessary disruption to operations in order to become compliant.
Mandatory wage reporting may also result in an increase in compliance costs, especially if an overhaul in payroll solutions and systems is needed. Current staff and new hires may need additional training to be brought up to speed on how these mandates will affect their jobs. An assessment of your current payroll processes should also be performed to determine what needs to change as a result of these new payroll regulations.
Resources and Support
While new payroll regulations always have a learning curve, it is of utmost importance to keep compliant with the new certified payroll regulations. If your New Jersey construction firm is not already registered with NJ Wage Hub and regularly submitting certified payroll records, you are now mandated to do so. This may mean urgently upgrading your payroll system and processes in order to seamlessly report workers' wages on the NJ Wage Hub portal weekly.
Ensure your business is compliant with the new NJ-certified payroll regulations. Contact Exact Payroll today for expert guidance and support. Schedule a free consultation now to learn how we can help you navigate these changes seamlessly.
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