New hiring laws in New Jersey for 2027: what changed in 2026 and what employers do next

As of October 2026, New Jersey's hiring rules changed five times during 2026 and change once more on January 1, 2027. Veterans gained explicit protection under the Law Against Discrimination and new-hire reporting expanded to 1099 workers (both January 20, 2026), the Family Leave Act now covers employers with 15 or more employees (July 17, 2026), and the Department of Labor's ABC test rules for independent contractors became operative (October 1, 2026). On January 1, 2027 the minimum wage rises to $16.48 an hour for most employers.

This page lists only enacted laws and adopted rules with a confirmed effective date, each linked to the Legislature's chapter law or the agency's own notice. For the full standing checklist (registration, pay ranges, criminal history timing, notices at hire), see our New Jersey hiring hub; this page covers what is new.

Which New Jersey hiring laws changed in 2026, and what changes in 2027?

What does the veterans amendment to the Law Against Discrimination change?

P.L.2025, c.307, approved January 20, 2026 and effective immediately, defines "service in the Armed Forces of the United States" as active service in any branch or the National Guard and expressly includes "having been discharged or released from active service." Refusing to hire because of that service was already listed in the LAD; the amendment makes clear it protects veterans, not only people currently serving, and adds a new unlawful practice when "an employer denies reemployment to an employee who takes leave for military service." The Assembly Judiciary Committee statement ties that provision to the federal USERRA.

For recruiters this is a screening point: discharge type, time since separation or "too long in the military" should not be used to rank or reject candidates. Our guide to interviewing military veterans has questions that stay on skills.

Do New Jersey employers now report 1099 contractors as new hires?

Yes. P.L.2025, c.361, also approved January 20, 2026 and effective immediately, rewrites N.J.S.A. 2A:17-56.61. All employers, labor organizations and other entities "including technology platforms used for ride-sharing, delivery, or other services" must report the hiring of, or contracting with, any person who works in New Jersey and is paid "earnings, or any other financial compensation, including earnings reported on a Form 1099." The report (name, address, date of birth, Social Security number and the entity's federal tax ID) is due within 20 days, or every 15 days for electronic filers. After a written warning the penalty is up to $25 per violation, or $500 if the report was withheld by agreement between the parties.

Staffing firms that place some people as W-2 employees and pay others on 1099 now report both groups. Add the contractor population to your onboarding checklist, not only payroll.

Which employers does the expanded Family Leave Act cover?

Employers with 15 or more employees, from July 17, 2026. P.L.2025, c.279 (bill A3451) was approved January 17, 2026 and "shall take effect six months following enactment." After that date an employer is covered if it "employs 15 or more employees for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the then current or immediately preceding calendar year," down from 30. Eligibility also shrinks: an employee qualifies after being "employed for at least three months" and working "not less than 250 base hours during the immediately preceding 12-month period," instead of 12 months and 1,000 hours.

Two hiring consequences follow. A company with 15 to 29 employees now owes job-protected family leave and must restore employees afterward, which belongs in its handbook and offer-letter language. And a new hire can qualify for protected leave after about one quarter, so new-hire benefit summaries should say so. The enacted text sets 15 as the threshold with no later step-down; earlier versions that phased the number lower were not adopted.

What do the ABC test rules mean for hiring contractors?

The Department of Labor adopted N.J.A.C. 12:11 on May 5, 2026; the rules were published in the New Jersey Register on June 1, 2026 (58 N.J.R. 1587(a)) and "will be operative on October 1, 2026." They explain how the Department applies the existing statutory ABC test under the Unemployment Compensation Law, the Wage and Hour Law and the Wage Payment Law, and they state that "the putative employer has the burden of proof to meet all three prongs": freedom from control, work outside the usual course of the business (or outside all its places of business), and a worker customarily engaged in an independently established trade or business.

If you engage people as contractors, decide and document the classification before the first assignment, because the burden now sits plainly with you. For a staffing agency, supplying workers is ordinarily its own course of business, which makes prong B difficult for placed workers paid as contractors. See our New Jersey staffing agency rules for the licensing side.

What will New Jersey's minimum wage be in 2027?

$16.48 an hour for most employers from January 1, 2027, up $0.56, according to the Department of Labor's September 29, 2026 announcement. Seasonal and small employers (fewer than six employees) move to $16.25, farm workers to $15, long-term care direct care staff to $19.48, and the tipped cash wage to $6.61 with the maximum tip credit unchanged at $9.87. The rate is set each year from the Consumer Price Index under Article I, paragraph 23 of the state constitution. Job ads that show a range under the pay transparency law must not start below the new floor for postings that run into 2027.

What took effect just before 2026 that still shapes New Jersey hiring?

• Pay ranges in job postings (June 1, 2025). Employers with 10 or more employees over 20 calendar weeks post a wage or salary range and a general benefits description. The Department of Labor's pay transparency page says its proposed rules (N.J.A.C. 12:74, published September 15, 2025) "have not been adopted and are currently non-binding, though they are instructive." Details are in our New Jersey pay transparency guide.
• Disparate impact rules for automated hiring tools (December 15, 2025). The Division on Civil Rights adopted N.J.A.C. 13:16, published in the New Jersey Register on December 15, 2025, explaining how "automated online application tools or facial analysis software in hiring" may create liability under the LAD. See AI hiring laws by state.

What is proposed in New Jersey but not yet law?

The FAIR Act, S4075, would regulate employers' use of AI systems for electronic monitoring and employment decisions. The Senate Labor Committee reported it on October 1, 2026 and referred it to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee; it has not passed either house. The pay transparency rules above also remain a proposal. Neither belongs in your policies yet, but both are worth watching before you buy or renew an AI screening tool.

What should New Jersey employers do before January 1, 2027?

1. Reprice offers and postings. Check every New Jersey hourly rate, including temporary placements, against $16.48 (or the seasonal, farm, tipped or long-term care rate) and update ranges in postings that will still be live in January.
2. Refresh wage notices. The Department's minimum wage flier (MW-571, dated September 2026) already lists the 2027 rates; make sure the wage and hour notices you post are the Department's current versions.
3. Update leave policies if you have 15 to 29 employees. Add Family Leave Act rights, reinstatement and the three-month, 250-hour eligibility rule to the handbook and new-hire materials.
4. Review contractor engagements. Document the three ABC prongs for each contractor; reclassify where you cannot meet them.
5. Add 1099 workers to new-hire reporting. Report contractors working in New Jersey within 20 days of contracting.
6. Brief interviewers on veteran status. Remove screens or questions based on military service or discharge.
7. Audit automated screening. Keep testing records for any AI or automated tool, in line with the Division on Civil Rights rules.

What does this mean for staffing agencies placing workers in New Jersey?

Agencies feel three of these changes first: the minimum wage reprices every hourly placement on January 1, the ABC rules put the burden of proving contractor status on the business that engages the worker, and new-hire reporting now reaches the 1099 side of the business. Postings an agency runs for New Jersey roles should carry a range that starts at or above the new floor; the pay transparency guide explains who is covered. The standing rules on criminal history timing and pay history did not change in 2026; see New Jersey ban-the-box and the New Jersey salary history ban. For pre-placement cannabis testing, see New Jersey drug testing laws.