You are over thinking this issue, and you need to leave the "worrying" to your attonery.
Alimony or the lack of it, is not perdicated on whether the spouse is working or how much they make 90% of the time now days.
What state are you in? How long were you married? what is your profession? What is her education level?

We live in NJ. We've been married 11 years, but have been separated for the last two. She is a Parsons educated graphic designer with Madison Avenue experience. She was earning about $60k/year when we got married and decided that she didn't want to work anymore shortly thereafter. I have no college education, but I earn $100k/year as a programmer.

I purchased a house on her promise that she would return to work. I supported her while she studied for the real estate exam and through several semesters of nursing school. During the last eight (or so) years that we were married, she earned essentially nothing. She did, however, buy lots of shoes and dresses. She also liked to run up $500 phone bills.

After the money finally ran out, and the charge privileges on our credit cards were finally suspended, I discovered that she finally got a full-time job when I found her W2 form in the mail! She had been hiding the money from me.

I just want a fast divorce, with no alimony, and I never want to see or hear from her again. I'm even willing to split the house with her to make it easy. We have very little equity in it anyway, because of all the debt.

Sorry, that should read, "she finally got a part-time job when I found her w2...."

Anyway, my question is...

In the even that a court awards my wife alimony, who is responsible for keeping track of her future employment status?

It seems absolutely unreasonable for a court to saddle me with payments based external circumstance, and then make me entirely responsible for tracking that circumstance.

So, how does it work in the real world?

It should be pretty clear that, since my wife lied to me about not working while we were living together, it would be a simple matter for her to lie to me about the same subject after we're divorced. No?

Anyone know the answer to this?

Ok I amtrying to stay with the pertinent facts.
Generally, today alimony is calculated on the raising of children ( left job to do that); Supporting partner through college and grad school; contributing funds and or work into a professional practice of family business; or leaving a carrer type job to relocate to support the other partners career ( ie. one lives in washington DC and one lives in Va. one gives up job/career to move to the others career site); and the length of the marriage, marriage so 20-30-40 years are going to receive alimony unless they are already making mor ethan the other partner and the property settlement is equitable.

In your case , as you have presented, you have none of the usual spousal support factors. I cannot guess what a court in NJ will do , but it WILL depend on how your attorney frame sthe petition resisting spousal support IF the wife's atty even files such a request.
You maybe looking at a short term "rehabilitative alimony"; . That will depend on whether you want to pay her 500.00 month for a year or pay your attorney to fight it. Since she is educated, and has no children ( correct?) then a one time cash settlement might be the best way to say "Happy Trails". That settlement shoudl include enough for 1st month, last month , security deposit and a coupdle of months expensines. Or you can have a trial which will cost abouyt 7 to 10K.
Hire a good divocre atty and decide what you want to do befor emeeting with him ( save money)

I appreciate all that, and I thank you for taking the time to reassure me.

But my question was, who would be responsible for keeping track of changes in my wife's future financial circumstances?

I'm especially interested in this because she has a history of lying about it.

Assuming you do have to pay spousal support , and for long enough to have to worry about htis, and the court doe ssomething RARE: predicates the ending of her support based on her income ( rare , rare) you would have to "know" , though she would be ordered to report it herself. If she defrauded the court by violating the order , she would face sanctions.
But that is why an income level is hardly ever used, becaus eshe could just "not work'. And the courts like finite times and numbers , they do not want to babysit thsi case for years. I really doubt any court would agree to a "salary threshold" stipulation. It just doesn't make legal sense.

I agree! And that's exactly why none of this makes any sense!

I'm a programmer. If I wrote a program that was supposed to do something only while a particular condition was met, and I forgot to include a mechanism for measuring that condition -- I'd get insta-fired. In my world, that makes no sense whatsoever.

By allowing a payee spouse to apply for alimony reduction in response to changed circumstance, it is implicit that the circumstance is the condition -- with or without a set threshold. And, by ordering payment of alimony contingent on that circumstance -- no matter how implicit -- they are placing the burden of the measurement of those circumstances on the payee spouse -- intentionally, or unintentionally.

How in the world can a judge justify that?

All those payees should be payers :p

I understood, my vision is so poor I admire anyone that can read my ramblings.
Well, just because it is in the statutes, doen't mean the courts like it. To have the toolk, in case, doesn't mena it get sused often.

take contracts for example, if there is not a finite period the contract is invalid.
You have control oover this by making an offer. Now I can tell you are a smart man, and nobody's fool but hire an attorney. You are too close and too angry to do this pro se.
Even attorney hire attorneys. Thanks for the award, and keep me posted.
It is easy to research spousal support cases, you might want to do that yourself; knowledge is power.