My Employer In New Jersey Is Allowing Me To Work At Home. Must My Employer Pay Me The Same Salary Or Hourly Rate That I Earned When I Worked At The Employer’s Office?

No. Your employer in New Jersey, who is allowing you to work from home, is not required to pay you the same salary or hourly rate that you earned when you worked at the employer’s office. In New Jersey, your employer can reduce your rate of pay as long as (i) your employer gives you advance notice of the reduction and (ii) your pay continues to be not less than the New Jersey minimum wage. Effective January 1, 2021 and for most workers, the New Jersey minimum wage is $12.00 per hour.

Your employer cannot make any reduction in your rate of pay retroactive for any time worked.

In New Jersey, employees must be told at the time of hiring what their rate of pay will be and on what day they will be regularly paid.

Employees also must be told of any changes in pay rates or paydays before the changes take effect.

Specifically, section 34:11-4.6 of the New Jersey Statutes Annotated, entitled “Dissemination of information; records,” states, in pertinent part,

Every employer shall:

Notify his employees at the time of hiring, of the rate of pay, and of the regular payday designated by the employer in accordance with [N.J.S.A. § 34:11-4.2].
Notify his employees of any changes in the pay rates or pay days prior to the time of such changes.

N.J.S.A. § 34:11-4.6(a), 34:11-4.6(b).

Section 34:11-4.2 of the New Jersey Statutes Annotated, in turn, requires an employer to pay, in cash or by check, the full amount of wages owing to its employees at least twice during each calendar month, on regular paydays designated in advance by the employer.

If you are an executive or a professional in New Jersey and you believe that you have been wrongfully terminated, that you’ve been denied salary, bonuses, commissions, or other wages that are owed to you, or that your employer has failed or refused to reasonably accommodate your disability, call New Jersey Employment Attorney David S. Rich at (201) 740-2828 today.

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