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New Jersey Imposes Apprentice and Length of Service Requirements on Prevailing Wage Projects

Note: Important Update Below

By Russell McEwan

January 15, 2026
5 minute read

CORRECTION: Contrary to prior reports, it has been confirmed that proposed amendments to the N.J. Public Works Contractor Registration Act establishing minimum qualifications for workers on public works projects were not enacted.

The amendments encompassed by Senate Bill 2961 (“S2961”), as conditionally vetoed by former Governor Phil Murphy, would have required contractors registering to perform public work to certify that their employees were authorized to work on prevailing wage projects. To be authorized, individual workers would have to either have graduated from an apprenticeship program governed by standards matching those of the prevailing building trade union OR have at least four years of work experience as “a craft worker.” Notably, the qualifications required by the amendment would not have been applicable to workers who were members of the prevailing building trade union.

S2961 was introduced in March 2024. By June 2025, the bill had cleared both houses and was presented for the governor’s signature. In October 2025, then-Governor Murphy conditionally vetoed the bill, retaining much of its original structure. On January 12, 2026, the Senate voted 34-0 to accept the terms of the conditional veto. The Assembly, however, did not post the bill for a vote, and it was not returned to the governor for signature prior to the expiration of his term in office. Thus, S2961 was not codified.

Although N.J. public works contractors will not be saddled with the requirements discussed below, it is anticipated that a similar bill could make its way back into the legislative agenda again. In this regard, S2961 is clearly beneficial to the state’s influential and politically active building trades unions, and received wide support in both houses.

We will continue to monitor and provide relevant updates.

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On January 12, 2026, New Jersey enacted amendments to the Public Works Contractor Registration Act. Effective in mid-March, the amendments¹ establish minimum qualifications for workers on public works projects. To perform public work, contractors will be required to certify, in a form to be developed by the N.J. Department of Labor and Workforce Development, and to demonstrate with unspecified supporting documentation, that their employees are authorized to work on prevailing wage projects.

To satisfy these requirements, craft workers must have either graduated from an apprenticeship program whose standards match those of the prevailing building trade union OR they must have at least four years of work experience as “a craft worker.” Notably, the qualifications required by the amendment do not apply to members of the prevailing building trade union. This means the amendment will impact only individuals who have not opted for union representation, members of non-prevailing unions, or their respective employers.

At this early juncture, the amendment leaves many questions unanswered. For example, it does not specify whether the relevant four years of work experience must be in the same type of work (a/k/a classification) to be performed by the worker, or whether the four-year requirement can be satisfied by work in any of the activities encompassed by the Prevailing Wage Act (e.g. construction, reconstruction, demolition, alteration, custom fabrication, repair work, maintenance work, including painting and decorating, etc.).

With regard to broader policy implications, it is unclear how the apprentice and length of service requirements will impact individuals considering a career or already working in construction. For example, how will the amendment affect minorities and women, whose participation in public construction is actively promoted by New Jersey law and policy? Unless such individuals belong to a prevailing building trade union or were graduated from the union’s apprenticeship program, opportunities for employment in public contracting may be curtailed by the amendment. Further, a perception from those in New Jersey’s “workforce of tomorrow”² that the construction industry limits opportunities could exacerbate the labor shortage already facing the construction industry nationwide.

Littler will continue to monitor and report on pertinent developments. At a minimum, employers to whom the amendment applies would be well-advised to plan for changes in the contractor registration process, and to structure their prevailing wage work crews with the new apprentice and length of service requirements in mind.

¹The amendment changes N.J.S.A. 34:11-56.50 as follows:

8. A certification form provided by the commissioner, with supporting documentation, establishing to the satisfaction of the commissioner that each journeyperson employed as a craft worker by the contractor in the performance of public work meets at least one of the following qualifications: (a) has graduated from a registered apprenticeship program with ‘Standards of Apprenticeship,’ 29 C.F.R. s. 29.5, for the craft or trade of the journeyperson that are equivalent to those of a United States Department of Labor registered apprenticeship program that is sponsored by a labor union or jointly sponsored with a labor union and an employer association, provided that the labor union is signatory to a collective bargaining agreement that is or was the basis for a determination by the commissioner of the ‘prevailing wage,’ pursuant to section 6 of P.L.1963, c.150 (C.34:11-56.30); or (b) has completed four years of documented work as a craft worker that can be verified by their pay records or through sworn statements of the craft worker and the employer or employers for whom the craft worker performed services during the four year period; except that craft workers who are members of a labor union and are employed by an employer that is signatory to a collective bargaining agreement that is or was the basis for a determination by the commissioner of the ‘prevailing wage,’ pursuant to section 6 of P.L.1963, c.150 (C.34:11-56.30), shall be exempt from the qualifications of this paragraph.

² Gov. Murphy and other state officials have referred to creating a “workforce of tomorrow” in New Jersey. See, e.g., Press Release, Department of Labor & Workforce Development, NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development Announces $1M in Grant Funds to Support Degree Apprenticeship Programs (Jan. 19, 2022); Press Release, Office of Gov. Phil Murphy, ICYMI: NJ Labor Department Announces NJ PLACE 2.0 Degree Apprenticeship Program (Jan. 31, 2020); Robert Asaro-Angelo, Labor Department Given Key Role in Shaping NJ’s Innovation-Driven Economic Future, New Jersey Business Magazine (June 1, 2019).