Nurses Held Exempt Under N.J. Wage and Hour Law

On Nov. 16, 2011, the Appellate Division held that registered nurses are exempt from overtime compensation under the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law (NJWHL), N.J.S.A. 34:11-56a1 to 56a30, even if paid on an hourly basis, because they fall within the “professional” exemption. Anderson v. Phoenix Health Care, Inc., A-2607-10T2 (N.J. App. Div. Nov. 16, 2011). The court further held that, even if registered nurses were not exempt, a claim for overtime compensation may nevertheless fail under the NJWHL’s good-faith exception, N.J.S.A. 34:11-56a25.2, if the employer establishes that it conformed to the Division of Wage and Hour Compliance’s “longstanding interpretation that registered nurses are not entitled to overtime so long as they are compensated in excess of the weekly minimum” salary required for exemption.

An employer’s obligation to pay overtime wages is a component of New Jersey’s minimum wage law, which was enacted “to establish a minimum wage level for workers in order to safeguard their health, efficiency, and general well-being[.]” See Marx v. Friendly Ice Cream Corp., 380 N.J. Super. 302 (App. Div. 2005). The NJWHL requires that employers pay one-and-one-half times an employee’s hourly wage for each hour worked in excess of 40 hours per week. Excepted from this general rule are individuals employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, professional or outside sales capacity. N.J.A.C. 12:56-7.1.