NJ Form AA-201, the Initial Project Workforce Report, is the one-page filing every prime contractor on a New Jersey public construction project must complete after the contract is awarded and before it is signed. It projects your composite project workforce, meaning your own crew plus every subcontractor’s, broken out by trade, gender, and minority status. Two copies go out: one to the public agency that awarded the contract, and one to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s Construction EEO Compliance Monitoring Program at PO Box 209, Trenton, NJ 08625-0209.1Department of the Treasury. Public Contracts Equal Employment Opportunity Compliance Monitoring Program
Who Files and When
The rule sits in N.J.A.C. 17:27-3.8. Once a state, county, or municipal agency notifies you of a construction contract award, the AA-201 must be completed and submitted before the contract is signed.2Legal Information Institute. New Jersey Admin Code 17:27-3.8 There is no fixed number of days. The window opens with the award notice and closes at contract execution, so a slow AA-201 is a slow contract.
Individual agencies can tighten that timeline. The New Jersey Schools Development Authority, for example, requires the form within seven business days of the Notice to Proceed.3New Jersey Schools Development Authority. NJ Form AA-201 Initial Project Workforce Report Read the contract documents before you assume the statewide rule is the only one that applies.
One point of frequent confusion: construction workforce reporting is administered by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, not the Treasury’s Division of Purchase and Property, which handles goods and services contracts.4New Jersey Department of the Treasury. Public Agency Guidelines for Administering Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action in Public Contracts
Where to Get the Form
You can download the blank AA-201 and its instruction sheet from the Construction Forms section of the Contract Compliance page at nj.gov/treasury/contract_compliance.1Department of the Treasury. Public Contracts Equal Employment Opportunity Compliance Monitoring Program The awarding agency will sometimes hand it to you directly with the award package.5Legal Information Institute. New Jersey Admin Code 17:27-7.5 – Construction Project Workforce Reporting and Compliance Procedures
How to Fill It Out
Before you start entering numbers, pull your payroll records, any employee self-identification data, and workforce projections from every subcontractor. The AA-201 asks for the entire project’s projected workforce, not a snapshot of who’s on your books today.
Header
The top of the form takes the contractor name and address, the project name, the awarding public agency, and the contract number. Copy the project identification and contract details straight from the agency’s paperwork so the numbers match their records.
Trade Grid
The main body of the form is a grid with 18 pre-printed trades and two blank “Other” rows:6State of New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. NJ Form AA-201 – Initial Project Workforce Report
- Asbestos Worker
- Bricklayer or Mason
- Carpenter
- Electrician
- Glazier
- HVAC Mechanic
- Ironworker
- Operating Engineer
- Painter
- Plumber
- Roofer
- Sheet Metal Worker
- Sprinkler Fitter
- Steamfitter
- Surveyor
- Tiler
- Truck Driver
- Laborer
Trades you won’t use stay at zero. If the project involves a trade that doesn’t fit any listed category, write it in on one of the two “Other” lines. Each trade is reported at two classification levels, Journeyworker (J) and Apprentice (AP), where applicable.
Gender and Minority Columns
Each trade row has four count columns: projected total male, projected total female, projected minority male, and projected minority female. The instructions define minority employees as Black, Hispanic, American Indian, and Asian workers, reported as a single combined figure per trade rather than split by race.7State of New Jersey Department of the Treasury. Instructions for Completing the Initial Project Workforce Report – Construction (AA201)
The figures must reflect the composite workforce of the prime contractor and every subcontractor projected to work the job.7State of New Jersey Department of the Treasury. Instructions for Completing the Initial Project Workforce Report – Construction (AA201) You cannot fill this out accurately without your subs’ numbers in hand.
Collecting Subcontractor Data
Each subcontractor completes a companion form, AA-201a (Sub-Contractor Projection Form), which the prime contractor submits alongside the AA-201.8New Jersey Schools Development Authority. Form AA201a – Sub-Contractor Projection Form Collecting them is your responsibility as prime. A slow subcontractor becomes a late filing, and the state treats that as a prime-contractor problem. Writing the AA-201a obligation into your subcontract terms is the cleanest way to keep the projections moving after award notification.
Where to Submit
The form goes to two places:
- The awarding public agency, addressed to its compliance officer. Confirm whether the agency wants an electronic submission or a hard copy.
- The Construction EEO Compliance Monitoring Program, Department of Labor and Workforce Development, PO Box 209, Trenton, NJ 08625-0209.1Department of the Treasury. Public Contracts Equal Employment Opportunity Compliance Monitoring Program
Keep your own copy, and save any digital receipt the agency sends back as proof of timely filing.
What Comes After: Monthly AA-202
The AA-201 covers projections at award. Once work starts, you owe a Monthly Project Workforce Report (Form AA-202) to the agency and the Department by the seventh business day of each month the contract is active.5Legal Information Institute. New Jersey Admin Code 17:27-7.5 – Construction Project Workforce Reporting and Compliance Procedures The AA-202 reports actual hours worked by trade, plus running cumulative totals, along with the percentage of hours performed by minority and female employees for both the month and the project to date.9State of New Jersey Department of the Treasury. Instructions for Completing Monthly Project Workforce Report (AA202) A slow month on site does not excuse the filing; if the contract is open, a report is due.
Penalties for Missing or Late Filings
N.J.A.C. 17:27-10.6 treats a missing or late AA-201 or AA-202 as a violation, with daily fines that escalate on repeat offenses:10Legal Information Institute. New Jersey Admin Code 17:27-10.6 – Contractor, Vendor and Public Agency Violations
- First violation: $250 per day for each day the violation continues.
- Second violation: up to $500 per day.
- Third and subsequent violations: between $500 and $1,000 per day.
Beyond fines, the state can refer the matter to the contracting agency for corrective action, including suspension of the contract, debarment from future public work, withholding of progress payments, or termination. Subcontractors face the same exposure separately. If a sub’s failure to hand over data leaves your report incomplete, your compliance record is hit first, but the sub can still be pursued in its own right.