Since mid-March, New Jersey employers have grappled with making workplace decisions they never could have imagined making before the world was plagued by COVID-19—whether to furlough or lay off employees, how to meet payroll and other financial obligations, how to manage a remote workforce, and whether the business will need to shutter its doors permanently. As New Jersey businesses have slowly started to reopen, new questions arise, especially in the wage and hour context.

Businesses are navigating the pandemic and reopening their doors in a strict regulatory and litigious environment. This month marks the one-year anniversary of the enactment of the New Jersey's Wage Theft Act or WTA, which strengthened the state's wage and hour laws to be among the toughest in the country. Damages and penalties increased for wage and hour violations and, significantly, there is no "COVID-19 defense" for employers who fail to comply because of the financial and/or operational impact of the coronavirus. Therefore, it is important that New Jersey employers carefully consider their wage and hour practices when creating and implementing reopening plans to avoid costly litigation and potentially criminal penalties.