State-of-the-art online database presents one of the most comprehensive data sets in the country for traffic stop information

July 8, 2021

TRENTON, NJ (MERCER)–Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal today announced the launch of the New Jersey State Police Traffic Stop Dashboard (the “Dashboard”), which will enable the public to view detailed information on more than six million traffic stops conducted by the New Jersey State Police over a period of more than 10 years, from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2020.

Operated by the Attorney General’s Office and developed in partnership with SAS, the Dashboard provides one of the most comprehensive statewide databases in the country for traffic stop information. The data is organized by a variety of metrics, including driver race, and users can download the full dataset for their own review. Researchers, reporters, and members of the public can access the Dashboard on the Attorney General’s Office website at njoag.gov/trafficstops.

“The New Jersey State Police Traffic Stop Dashboard is another powerful tool to promote transparency and accountability in policing in New Jersey,” said Attorney General Grewal. “It presents more than a decade of data in a format that will facilitate analysis and encourage public dialogue about this critical area of policing. Just as we are enabling law enforcement, the media, researchers, and the public to better understand how force is used by police with our Use of Force portal, this new Dashboard will give stakeholders an unprecedented look at how and why the State Police conduct traffic stops.”

“The Office of Law Enforcement Professional Standards supports the New Jersey State Police with legal advice and objective monitoring designed to ensure that their policies and procedures address evolving legal principles as well as any issues identified in reported data,” said OLEPS Director Christina M. Glogoff. “With this new public dashboard, we invite citizens, advocates, and reporters to examine State Police traffic stop data themselves and perhaps contribute to a public conversation about best practices in this area.”

“The New Jersey State Police is committed to providing professional and compassionate service to the public in partnership with our communities, and we are committed to promoting transparency and accountability. We hold New Jersey State Troopers to the highest standards, which is why we have implemented multiple layers of oversight over the last two decades to identify potentially deficient patrol practices or behaviors before they become a problem,” said Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. “The Dashboard will be a window through which the public can view the data that we utilize to enhance and improve our training for both enlisted members and for recruits in training, and we welcome the opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue about how we conduct traffic stops.”

By statute, the Attorney General’s Office is required to periodically publish aggregate data of New Jersey State Police motor vehicle stops. After collecting traffic stop data for over a decade and publishing written reports, the Attorney General’s Office has now created the Dashboard to present this extensive dataset in a variety of visual and interactive displays. Throughout, the information is broken out by driver race.

The Dashboard includes graphical representations that illustrate trends over time about the reasons a state trooper stopped a motor vehicle, and the actions, if any, the trooper took after the motor vehicle stop with respect to the driver and any other occupants, including:

              • Summonses issued 

              • Warnings issued 

              • Arrests 

              • Consent searches conducted 

              • Probable cause searches conducted 

              • Uses of force 

              • Vehicle exits 

              • Frisks 

              • Canine deployments 

The Dashboard continues to be a work in progress, and the Attorney General’s Office encourages users to complete a short survey at this link to offer feedback on the site: Traffic Stop Dashboard Feedback.

Since October 2020, all police officers in New Jersey have been reporting detailed information on every use of force by police through the Attorney General’s Use of Force Portal. In March, Attorney General Grewal launched a public-facing version of the statewide use of force database called the Use of Force Dashboard. The Use of Force Dashboard is accessible at njoag.gov/force.

To learn more about recent policing reforms in New Jersey, visit njoag.gov/policing.

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July 8, 2021

TRENTON, NJ (MERCER)–Building on his commitment to making sure that workers and employers in New Jersey are treated fairly, Governor Phil Murphy today signed a four-bill legislative package furthering state efforts to stop employee misclassification. 

Misclassification is the practice of illegally and improperly classifying employees as independent contractors. This practice deprives workers of the right to earn minimum wage and overtime, workers’ compensation, unemployment, earned sick leave, job-protected family leave, temporary disability, and equal pay, and leaves them unprotected against discrimination. It also hurts the vast majority of employers who play by the rules, by putting them at a competitive disadvantage against those who flout the law. 
Through today’s action, a new Office of Strategic Enforcement and Compliance within the Department of Labor (DOL) will be created and DOL will create a database to track payroll projects, critical steps to tracking and eliminating misclassification. The others bills in the package will simplify the process for identifying misclassified workers and implement stop-work orders at worksites where misclassification is identified. 

Tackling worker misclassification has been a priority of the Murphy Administration since day one, and these efforts build on the significant progress that already has been made. In 2018, a Department of Labor audit found more than 12,300 cases of workers being misclassified, resulting in more than $460 million in underreported gross wages and $14 million in lost state unemployment and temporary disability contributions. The audit covered just 1 percent of businesses, suggesting that the real cost of misclassification is much, much higher.  

During his first year in office, Governor Murphy signed an executive order creating a Misclassification Task Force to determine the scope of the problem and propose measures to alleviate it. The Task Force was the result of a partnership between the Administration, the Legislature, and key labor and workforce stakeholders, that subsequently led to  laws stiffening penalties and providing new enforcement tools to tackle misclassification. Today’s bill signings continue this progress. 

“Workers who are misclassified as independent contractors miss out on fair wages and benefits,” said Governor Phil Murphy. “These business practices are unfair, abusive, and illegal and they cannot be tolerated. Today’s action will give the state more tools to root-out and prevent misclassification. I am honored to sign these bills today on behalf of New Jersey’s workers.” 

“We should all be proud that New Jersey is the best state in which to be a worker in the entire country. Because of the wages, rights and benefits New Jersey guarantees, we’re also the state whose workforce delivers the biggest value to employers,” said Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo. “The action taken by the Governor here today will only bolster New Jersey’s workforce — the employees who deserve the protections put in place for them – and the employers who play by the rules and properly classify their workers.”

“Employee misclassification has been a growing issue in New Jersey and I’m pleased to see further legislation signed into law that combats this abhorrent practice,” said Senator Fred Madden, chair of the Senator Labor Committee and sponsor of A-5891. “It may sound like a simple bureaucratic problem, but it is far more onerous: misclassification results in hard-working New Jerseyans being denied basic benefits such as overtime, medical leave, unemployment insurance, and safe workplaces, and their unscrupulous employers benefit. I’m confident this package of bills will go far in eradicating this practice and ensuring that our workers are treated fairly.”

“For too long, some contractors working for the state have been less than forthcoming about how they’re paying their employees,” said Senator Troy Singleton, sponsor of  A-1171. “The creation of a centrally located, publicly available, database of payroll certifications will go far to ensuring that workers are being paid proper wages when working on public contracts. That is good for the workers and taxpayers alike, and I’m pleased to see the measure now signed into law.”

“It is necessary to increase the Department of Labor’s enforcement powers.  We have seen far too many violations of State wage, benefit and tax laws,” said Assemblyman Anthony Verrelli, sponsor of A-5890.  “This law will further the department’s responsibility to mitigate bad actors from misclassifying employees and lessen violations against laws previously enacted.” 

“Creating a centralized office for the coordination of workforce and labor-related efforts will help ensure greater enforcement and compliance with New Jersey wage, benefit and tax laws,” Assembly sponsors of A-5891  Joseph Egan and Robert Karabinchak said in a joint statement. “This office will oversee the preliminary review of any business seeking State assistance to make sure they are complying with necessary regulations regarding employee compensation and contributions to unemployment and disability benefits funds. Ultimately, the coordination of these efforts will prove beneficial to our state, to employees, and to law-abiding businesses that deserve our assistance.”

“Misclassifying workers as independent contractors just to get out of paying insurance premiums harms hard-working people who deserve the same benefits and protections as other company employees,” said Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter, sponsor of A-5892. “Not only will misclassification for the purpose of evading insurance premiums be a violation of our state’s Insurance Fraud Prevention Act, but this law will also provide additional resources to help streamline the identification of employee misclassification.”

Today, Governor Murphy took action on the following legislation:

A-5890/S-3920 (Verrelli/Madden, Greenstein) – Concerns enforcement of employee misclassification and stop-work order laws.   

A-5891/S-3921 (Egan, Karabinchak, Space/Madden, Oroho) – Creates “Office of Strategic Enforcement and Compliance” in DOLWD; appropriates $1 million from General Fund.

A-5892/S-3922 (Sumter/Madden, Lagana) – Streamlines identification of employee misclassification.

A-1171/S-1260 (Freiman, Karabincak, Verrelli/Singleton, Oroho)– Requires Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development to create Statewide database of certified payroll information for public works projects. 

                 

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State of New Jersey Has Among the Highest Building Code Standards in the Nation

July 8, 2021

TRENTON, NJ (MERCER)–Today, Governor Murphy and Lieutenant Governor Oliver reminded the public that the Division of Codes and Standards in the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) is at the forefront of enforcing building codes, in partnership with municipalities in the state, to protect the health and safety of people who live, work, and visit New Jersey.

“The Florida condominium collapse is a sobering reminder that inspections and enforcement of building codes are critical tools that keep people safe,” said Governor Murphy. “New Jersey’s building codes are among the strongest in the nation, and our residents can rest assured that the Department of Community Affairs goes above and beyond the nationwide standard. Through continued vigilance, we can prevent tragedies and save lives.”

“The kind of tragedy that happened in Florida last month is the reason why New Jersey has one of the strongest building codes in the nation and why DCA has a capable team of building codes experts who establish and enforce these rigorous health, welfare, and safety standards,” said Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver, who serves as DCA Commissioner. “The Uniform Construction Code is the national standard, and New Jersey is one of the few states that consistently adopts it statewide, which demonstrates our commitment to protecting the public.”  

The Uniform Construction Code (UCC) implements subcodes that regulate such aspects of the built environment as building, plumbing, electrical, fire protection, energy, mechanical, fuel gas, rehabilitation, barrier-free, asbestos, radon, and elevators. The State’s current adopted codes and standards can be reviewed at https://www.nj.gov/dca/divisions/codes/codreg/ on the DCA website. All of these codes and standards adopted at the state level must be followed by each local governmental entity across the state to ensure the same high standards are consistently applied in all communities across New Jersey.

Additionally, under the New Jersey Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Law, DCA’s Bureau of Housing Inspection within the Division of Codes and Standards oversees regular inspections of hotels, motels, and multiple-family buildings that contain three or more housing units. The cyclical inspections help the State and local governments ensure that buildings in which multiple people and families are residing are being properly maintained by the property owner and meeting health and safety standards. The inspections include a visual look at foundation and structural members of the building that are accessible. They also cover such standards as heat, infestation, and lead hazards to make sure the building is safe for human habitation. 

If a complaint is received, alleging a violation of the New Jersey Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Law, then inspectors within the DCA Bureau of Housing Inspection go out to inspect the issue at hand and anything easily visible at the time of the complaint, regardless of where the building is in its inspection cycle. If violations are found, a notice is issued and a re-inspection is conducted to ensure the violation is abated.

Health and safety complaints about hotels, motels, and multiple dwelling buildings can be submitted with the local building code office. Complaints can also be filed with the Bureau of Housing Inspection at (609) 633-6227 or BHIInspections@dca.nj.gov.  

DCA offers a wide range of programs and services, including energy assistance, housing vouchers, affordable housing production, fire and building safety, community planning and development, local government management and finance, and disaster recovery and mitigation.

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