New Jersey Adopts Federal "Rounding" Rules

There is good news for New Jersey employers who utilize rounding. The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development has reconsidered its prior rejection of federal "rounding" rules. After a public comment period, the Department formally adopted a new rule which adopts, verbatim, the federal regulation regarding the use of time clocks and rounding practices. Under the new rule, rounding is lawful under New Jersey law so long as it "averages out ... over a period of time." This development means that New Jersey employers no longer need to assess the impact of rounding on a week-to-week basis. While this is a welcome development, employers who utilize rounding should remain vigilant to ensure that rounding is not "one sided" and that it does, in fact, average out over time.

This entry was written by Robert W. Pritchard.