Pay Stub Requirements in New Jersey

At a glance

Requirements one by one

The operative text ties the statement to deductions

N.J.S.A. 34:11-4.6(c) requires every employer to furnish “a statement of deductions made” for each pay period in which those deductions are made. For an employer with 10 or more employees, the statute says the additional earnings fields go “in that statement.”

That wording matters. The Legislature's explanatory statement describes a broader earnings-statement goal, but the enacted operative sentence retains the deduction-period condition. This page therefore does not turn the explanatory summary into an unconditional no-deduction-pay-period duty.

Employers with 10 or more employees add four fields

The additional fields are gross wages, net wages, rate of pay, and hours worked if hours are relevant to the wage calculation. The statute expressly includes public employers in this 10-or-more tier.

The employee-facing list states no pay-period dates, payday, employer or employee name or address, employee number, Social Security number, separate overtime rate, piece-rate units, allowance, tip, leave balance, or employer contribution.

An employee can choose paper

Section 34:11-4.6(c) expressly permits electronic delivery “unless the employee requests that the statement be provided in a paper format.” It states no advance-consent, printing, downloading, saving, or minimum portal-access period.

Records last six years, and agency penalties apply

The Department's official employer-record notice says the employer must keep the described wage-and-hour records for six years. That is a retention duty; the cited rule states no separate current- or former-employee procedure for requesting historical statements.

Under § 34:11-4.10(b), the Commissioner may assess up to $250 for a first Act violation and up to $500 for each subsequent violation. Subsection (a) also reaches an employer that knowingly violates another provision of the Wage Payment Law. Section 34:11-4.10(c)'s private liquidated-damages remedy is framed around wages due or lost, so this page does not import it into a statement-only violation with no unpaid wages.

What trips people up

Ten employees is the dividing line for the four added earnings fields, not for the deduction-statement rule itself. A smaller covered employer still furnishes the deduction statement when deductions are made.

The hours field is conditional even for a 10-or-more employer. It is required only when hours are relevant to the wage calculation; the statute does not replace that condition with a named salary or overtime-exemption list.

The six-year payroll-record rule does not itself say that an employee can demand six years of old pay stubs. Agency inspection and employee copy access are different questions.

Common questions

What happens in a pay period with no deductions?

The operative sentence expressly requires the statement “for each pay period those deductions are made” and places the 10-or-more fields “in that statement.” Because of that wording, this page does not claim an unconditional statutory statement duty for a no-deduction pay period.

Must a smaller employer show gross and net wages?

Section 34:11-4.6(c)'s express gross-wage, net-wage, rate, and relevant-hours list applies to employers with 10 or more employees. The general rule for every employer names the deductions made.

Does an electronic pay stub eliminate the paper option?

No. Electronic delivery is allowed, but an employee may request paper.

Statutes and sources

• N.J.S.A. 34:11-4.6(c), enacted amendment in P.L.2019, c.399. Two-tier statement duty, required fields, and electronic/paper choice. Official enacted text (accessed July 13, 2026).
• N.J.S.A. 34:11-4.10(a)-(b), current amendment in P.L.2019, c.212. Knowing violations and administrative penalties. Official enacted text (accessed July 13, 2026).
• N.J.S.A. 34:11-4.6(e); N.J.A.C. 12:56-4.1. Six-year underlying wage-and-hour record retention. Official Department notice (accessed July 13, 2026).
• S 2664 (2026-2027 Session). Proposed added wage-statement fields for covered fair-workweek pay. Official bill page (checked July 25, 2026).