New Jersey Imposes New Qualification Requirements on Public Works Craftworkers

On September 9, 2026, Governor Mikie Sherrill signed legislation amending New Jersey's Public Works Contractor Registration Act (the Act). The amendment establishes minimum qualifications for each journeyperson employed as a craftworker by a contractor in the performance of public work and requires contractors to certify, with supporting documentation satisfactory to the commissioner of labor of the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOLWD), that each covered worker satisfies those qualifications.

The amendment takes effect one year after enactment. Once the amendment is effective, contractors subject to the Act will need to determine whether the journeyperson craftworkers they assign to public work satisfy one of the statutory qualification pathways and whether sufficient documentation exists to support the required certification.

New Jersey contractors are already required to obtain a Public Works Contractor Registration Certificate before bidding on or performing public work in New Jersey. Existing law also requires a contractor that directly employs craftworkers to participate in a registered apprenticeship program for each craft in which it employs workers and to provide documentation establishing compliance with applicable apprenticeship standards. The requirement applies by craft, rather than by individual worker. The latest amendment builds upon that framework by adding a separate certification concerning the qualifications of individual journeyperson craftworkers, but it does not replace the Act's existing apprenticeship program participation requirements.

New Journeyperson Qualification Requirements

The amendment adds a new requirement directed at the qualifications of individual journeyperson craftworkers. To satisfy the new requirement, a contractor must provide a certification form with supporting documentation establishing that each journeyperson employed as a craftworker in the performance of public work meets one of the following two criteria. 

One qualification requirement is satisfied by documentation that the craftworker graduated from a registered apprenticeship program with "Standards of Apprenticeship" under 29 C.F.R. § 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. Alternatively, the qualification requirement may be met by the craftworker having completed four years of work as a craftworker that can be verified by pay records or through sworn statements of the craftworker and the employer or employers for whom the work was performed during the four-year period.

Exemptions for Certain Union-Represented Craftworkers

Not every craftworker will be subject to the new qualification requirements. The amendment exempts craftworkers employed pursuant to qualifying collective bargaining agreements. For some contractors, that exemption may significantly affect how the new requirements apply to their workforce. Contractors with represented and non-represented employees should not assume that an exemption applies across their entire workforce. Whether the exemption applies will require a worker-by-worker review of union membership and collective bargaining agreement coverage. 

What Public Works Contractors Should Know

For contractors performing public work, the principal concern is straightforward: Each journeyperson craftworker who does not fall within an exemption must satisfy either the apprenticeship pathway or the four-year experience pathway.

The amendment could create challenges for contractors employing experienced craftworkers who did not learn their trades through registered apprenticeship programs. Those workers may still qualify through the four-year pathway, but contractors will need documentation sufficient to verify the required experience through pay records or sworn statements. Contractors lacking historical pay records or other employment records may therefore face difficulties assembling documentation satisfactory to the DOLWP.

The amendment may also affect staffing decisions. Before assigning a journeyperson to public work, a contractor will need to determine whether the worker is qualified or exempt and whether the contractor can support that determination through appropriate documentation. As a result, a contractor may need to distinguish between workers capable of performing only private work and workers whose qualifications can be documented for purposes of public work.

Questions Remain

The amendment leaves several practical questions unanswered. For example, it remains unclear whether the required four years of experience must be in the same craft the journeyperson ultimately performs on public work. Likewise, the amendment does not specify what documentation the DOLWD will consider sufficient to establish qualifying experience or how sworn statements will be evaluated in the absence of supporting employment records. Additional guidance in the form of regulatory rulemaking from the DOLWD may be necessary before contractors can determine precisely how the certification process will operate.

Important To-Dos

Contractors should not wait until their next Public Works Contractor Registration renewal to address the amendment. During the one-year period before the law takes effect, contractors should consider:

• Identifying Covered Workers: Determine which journeyperson craftworkers may be assigned to public work and identify the craft or trade performed by each worker.
• Confirming Apprenticeship Graduation: Obtain records identifying the registered apprenticeship program, craft or trade, completion date, and applicable Standards of Apprenticeship.
• Documenting Work Experience: Identify workers who may rely on the four-year pathway and gather available pay records, certified payrolls, employment records, and other materials showing the dates and nature of the craftwork performed.
• Addressing Missing Records: Determine whether records or sworn statements will be needed from current or former employers and begin collecting those materials while they remain available.
• Evaluating Exemptions: Review union membership and applicable collective bargaining agreements to determine whether a statutory exemption applies.
• Planning Public Works Crews: Ensure that project managers and supervisory personnel understand that an employee's ability to perform a craft does not, standing alone, establish that the contractor can document the employee's qualifications under the amendment.
• Assigning Responsibility: Designate personnel to maintain worker qualification records and oversee the certifications required for Public Works Contractor Registration.

Contractors should also monitor forms, regulations, and guidance issued by the DOLWD. Because the amendment requires supporting documentation satisfactory to the labor commissioner, the DOLWD’s implementation decisions will be particularly important.

Conclusion

The amendment imposes a substantial new qualification and certification requirement for contractors performing public work. The key change is not merely that contractors must use journeyperson craftworkers who satisfy one of the statutory qualification pathways, but that they must be able to establish and document those qualifications for each covered worker assigned to public work.

The one-year effective date gives contractors time to prepare, but the undertaking should not be underestimated. Contractors employing substantial numbers of journeyperson craftworkers may need to confirm apprenticeship graduation, reconstruct work histories, obtain records from former employers, evaluate statutory exemptions, and organize supporting materials for the registration process. At a minimum, contractors performing public work would be well advised to identify the workers upon whom they expect to rely, determine the qualification pathway or exemption applicable to each worker, and begin assembling supporting documentation before the amendment takes effect.

Littler will continue to monitor developments and provide updates as they emerge.