New worker classification rules take effect Oct. 1. Paused requisitions often return to budget cycles later at tighter numbers, says CEO Cristina Amyot.
HOLMDEL, NJ, UNITED STATES, September 18, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — EnformHR, a human resources consulting firm based in Holmdel, advises New Jersey employers to keep open requisitions live. Employers should also narrow job postings to essential skills as Thursday’s state employment report approaches.
A paused requisition follows a predictable path: the budget reverts to the department, and headcount is reallocated during the next planning cycle. Finally, the hiring manager must justify the position from scratch against a smaller budget. Roles that require a six-month ramp-up often sit at the back of that queue. Yet these are exactly the roles a company needs staffed first once demand returns.
Among our client base, resume submissions are up about 30% since the start of the year, yet only a fraction of the candidates meet the basic requirements of the job, resulting in wasted screening time and lost opportunity in connecting with the right candidate.
“Application volume rises in a slower market, and screening hours increase along with it. This changes the workload even when headcount remains steady,” said Cristina Amyot, SHRM-SCP, President and CEO of EnformHR. “When a competitor in the same sector cuts staff, those people sit on the market for a few weeks. An employer with a live posting and an approved salary range can move inside that window.”
New Jersey is down 19,600 nonfarm jobs year-over-year. Private education and health services added 26,400 jobs over that same period. Meanwhile, leisure and hospitality lost 12,800 jobs, and professional and business services lost 7,000 jobs.
The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development will release August estimates on September 17. July preliminary estimates showed a monthly decline of 25,600 jobs. The department described this figure at the time as likely overstated due to seasonal adjustments and survey response factors. The July unemployment rate was 4.4 percent.
“An employer seeing rising turnover in a sector that added jobs this year has a retention problem to solve,” Amyot said. “Those holding steady turnover in a sector that shed jobs have room to be selective on the next three hires. The statewide total sends both of them the same signal. They need opposite plans.”
Amyot added that three New Jersey rules dictate the cost and timeline of staff reductions. Each rule affects employers at a lower threshold than its federal counterpart. Based on published state requirements, EnformHR points employers to three areas worth reviewing with legal counsel:
– Layoffs aggregated under the New Jersey WARN Act. Since the 2023 amendments, a covered employer counts all its employees toward the 100-employee coverage threshold. This includes part-time staff and employees working outside New Jersey. A mass layoff is triggered by 50 terminations within 30 days. This is counted across all New Jersey locations together, and the percentage-of-workforce test has been removed.
Twelve people released at each of five sites add up to one covered event. Separate rounds within 90 days are aggregated unless the employer can show a distinct cause for each one. Once the law applies, the employer owes 90 days of advance written notice. They also owe one week of severance for each full year of service. Four additional weeks are added if notice runs short. That severance remains payable whether or not the employee signs a release.
– Employees moved to contractor status under the new state classification rules. New Jersey starts from the presumption that a worker is an employee. The hiring business carries the burden of satisfying all three prongs of the ABC test. On May 5, 2026, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development adopted regulations at New Jersey Administrative Code 12:11. These regulations detail how the department weighs each prong, and they take effect on October 1, 2026.
The second prong asks whether the work falls outside the usual course of the employer’s business. The regulations define “usual course” to include activities a company regularly performs to generate revenue. This also includes developing, producing, selling, marketing, or providing its goods and services. Reassigning a terminated employee to a 1099 role that covers the same duties directly conflicts with this definition.
– Internal promotions under the New Jersey Pay and Benefit Transparency Act. Employers who pivot toward filling roles internally remain subject to the law’s coverage. Since June 1, 2025, wage or salary ranges and a general description of benefits must be included in postings. This applies to new positions, transfers, and promotions. Additionally, employers must make reasonable efforts to announce promotional opportunities to staff in the affected departments.
The department published proposed rules on September 15, 2025. These rules require every posted range to include a minimum and a maximum, with the spread capped at 60 percent of the minimum. State guidance describes these proposed rules as instructive. However, they remain non-binding until formally adopted. Civil penalties under the Act are $300 for a first violation and $600 for each subsequent violation.
EnformHR assists employers with risk assessments in these three areas. They conduct statewide headcount census reviews, job posting audits, and worker classification reviews. The firm also works alongside clients’ legal counsel on compliance matters.
“Most of the situations we help clients sort out trace back to a sensible decision that moved three weeks faster than the rules allow,” Amyot said. “Pulling the statewide headcount census and mapping the 90-day notice calendar during the same week a reduction is first discussed keeps that decision on solid ground.”
For more information or to schedule a consultation, visit www.enformhr.com.
About EnformHR
EnformHR is a human resources consulting firm founded in 2008 and headquartered in Holmdel, New Jersey. The firm is a certified Women’s Business Enterprise with the State of New Jersey and with NJ Transit, the New Jersey Department of Transportation, and the Port Authority of NY/NJ under the New Jersey United Certification Program (NJ UCP).
EnformHR works with clients nationally and internationally across healthcare, technology, manufacturing, professional services, finance, education, retail, hospitality, trade, municipalities, and nonprofit organizations. Services include payroll and benefits administration, recruitment, workplace investigations, and compliance audits, provided either as an outsourced human resources department or on a project basis. The company assists businesses with risk assessment and works alongside client legal counsel on questions of compliance.
Cristina Amyot
EnformHR
+1 732-534-7844
camyot@enformhr.com
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