Luxury Car Transporter Pays $455K for Misclassifying Drivers

The State of New Jersey continues to diligently pursue violations of employment status misclassification and independent contractor relationships. 

COVID-19 Supplemental Benefits for Healthcare Workers Proposed in Legislation

Legislation (A3504) has been introduced to establish the Health Care Workers COVID-19 Supplemental Benefits Program in the Division of Workers' Compensation.

NJ Rates to Rise in 2024

New Jersey is set to become one of a handful of states with a minimum wage of at least $15/hour on January 1, 2024 when the rate increases to $15.13/hour, surpassing the goal set by Governor Murphy and the Legislature in 2019. 

Misclassification Lawsuit Filed by NJ Attorney General

Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo announced today that they have filed the first lawsuit under a 2021 law that permits the State to file suit in New Jersey Superior Court against employers who have misclassified workers as independent contractors when they are, in fact, employees.

Another Class of Benefits Proposed for Workers’ Compensation

The NJ Legislature is considering expanding the multitiered program to compensate the victims of industrial illness. This time a supplemental benefit program is being offered to compensate healthcare workers who contracted COVID-19.

NJ Targets Rampant Misclassification of Drywall Workers

In its second strategic enforcement initiative, focusing on the drywall industry, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) reached a first-of-its-kind enhanced compliance agreement with Donald Drywall, L.L.C. of Lakewood after investigators found the subcontractor had committed numerous wage and hour, earned sick leave, and employee misclassification violations.

NJ Industry Groups Challenge The Temporary Workers’ Rights Law

In February 2023, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed a new law that would give temporary workers in the state more protections.

Temporary Workers Bill of Rights Act Signed into Law by Governor Pat Murphy.

The New Jersey State Senate concurred with Governor Pat Murphy's recommendations in his conditional veto of the temporary workers’ bill of rights bill. A1474 The revised legislation was passed by the Senate on Thursday. It was signed into law on Monday by Governor Murphy for his signature.

NJ Issues Stop-Work Orders for Lack of Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Enforce continues at a rapid pace in New Jersey for failure to comply with the state’s labor laws. The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) issued stop-work orders to contractor HESP Solar L.L.C. of Montvale and subcontractor Patriot Iron Works of Gaithersburg, Maryland, who were working on a project at Belleville High School.

Uber Pays $100M Fine in NJ Driver Misclassification Case

Uber Technologies Inc. and a subsidiary have submitted a $100 million payment to the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s (NJDOL’s) Unemployment Trust Fund after an audit found the ride-share companies improperly classified hundreds of thousands of drivers as independent contractors, depriving them of crucial safety-net benefits such as unemployment, temporary disability, and family leave insurance, and failed to make required contributions toward unemployment, temporary disability, and workforce development.

NJDOL Uses Expanded Powers to Stop Worker Exploitation at Job Sites

In the three years since Governor Murphy signed a law expanding NJDOL’s powers to stop work on a job site when there is strong evidence workers are being exploited, the department has issued 71 stop-work orders, through which agents found nearly $1 million in back wages owed to 235 workers. 

NJ Landscaper Ordered by Federal Court to Pay $400K in Back Wages and Damages to 32 Workers.

A federal court has approved a consent judgment ordering a Succasunna landscaping company and its owner to pay $400,000 in back wages and damages after the U.S. Department of Labor found the employer denied 32 of its workers the overtime pay they earned.

New Jersey’s Minimum Wage to Increase to $13/Hour for Most Employees on Jan. 1

New Jersey’s statewide minimum wage will increase by $1 to $13 per hour for most employees, effective January 1, 2022. The increase will be reflected in higher workers’ compensation benefit rates as those are paired with the State Average Weekly Wage (SAWW).

NJ Workers’ Compensation Benefit Rates Increase in 2022

The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) announced increases in the maximum benefit rates for Unemployment Insurance, Temporary Disability Insurance, Family Leave Insurance, and Workers’ Compensation for the calendar year 2022. The increased rates will be effective for new claims dated January 2, 2022, and later.

Warehouse Workers' Injuries Are Increasing as Employers Use Artificial Intelligence

An increase of injuries suffered by warehouse workers, fueled by employers' use of artificial intelligence, is getting legislative attention. The focus is on Amazon and other major retail giants whose business has exploded since the COVID Pandemic emerged.

NJDOL, Treasury Raid Worksite in First Joint-Enforcement Action to Combat Worker Misclassification

A team of more than 60 investigators from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) and the Department of the Treasury, supported by other state agencies, conducted an unannounced investigation of a construction site at 88 Regent Street in Jersey City in response to allegations of worker misclassification. 

NJ Enacts Legislation to Protect New Jersey Workers, Employers From Unlawful Misclassification

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. 

NJ Governor Murphy Signs the Healthy Terminals Act

NJ Governor Phil Murphy today signed the Healthy Terminals Act (S989) which creates new minimum wage and benefits requirements for certain Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and Newark Liberty International Train Station workers. The legislation will expand access to livable wages and affordable health care for workers at the airport and train station who often cannot afford employer-provided health care plans.

US Department Of Labor Announces Proposals To Rescind Two Rules That Undermine Worker Protections Against Unfair Pay Practices

The U.S. Department of Labor today announced proposals to rescind two final rules that would significantly weaken protections afforded to American workers under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

NJ Supreme Court Rules Truck Drivers Entitled to Overtime Pay

Plaintiff Elmer Branch brought a putative class action against his employer, defendant Cream-O-Land Dairy, on behalf of himself and similarly situated truck drivers employed by defendant, for payment of overtime wages pursuant to the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law (WHL). In this appeal, the Court considers whether defendant could assert a defense to the action under N.J.S.A. 34:11-56a25.2 based on its good-faith reliance on certain determinations by employees of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (Department) that defendant is a “trucking industry employer.”