No more “unemployed need not apply” ads in New Jersey

In just over a month, a new law in NJ forbidding business from discriminating against unemployed job candidates will take effect.

More about this new law and the effect it will have on NJ employers, after the jump…

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You can find a copy of the new law here. Under this new law, NJ businesses may not advertise job openings in New Jersey that contain one or more of the following three items:

Any provision stating that the qualifications for a job include current employment;

Any provision stating that the employer or employer’s agent, representative, or designee will not consider or review an application for employment submitted by any job applicant currently unemployed; or

Any provision stating that the employer or employer’s agent, representative, or designee will only consider or review applications for employment submitted by job applicants who are currently employed.

First time violators will get tagged with a $1,000 fine. Repeat offenders will be fined $5,000. Three or more strikes will earn you a $10,000 fine per incident.

No private cause of action for aggrieved individuals.

Notably, after Governor Christie conditionally vetoed the bill the first time it came across his desk, the NJ Senate amended the bill to provide that aggrieved individuals may not assert private causes of action against a NJ business that allegedly violates the law. This amendment saves violators from a potential tidal wave of complaints based on a single bad advertisement. For now, the worst that can happen is a fine collectible by the Commission of Labor and Workforce Development.

The new law will take effect on June 1, 2011.