UNION COUNTY, NJ — After a two-and-a-half-year lawsuit battle against Caribbean Car Wash in Elizabeth, 24 workers will receive settlement checks on Thursday as part of a million-dollar settlement for unpaid wages.
The immigrant workers filed a lawsuit back in 2019 for unpaid overtime compensation and violation of the minimum wage laws under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law. This case was one of the first brought under the newly expanded wage theft law in New Jersey.
Some of the workers, or "carwasheros" as they are commonly known, worked six or seven days a week — typically 11 hours each day — for less than $5 an hour, according to a release. Currently, the minimum wage in NJ is $13 an hour and will increase by $1 each year, until it reaches $15 in 2024.
Under the settlement, many of the workers will receive over $40,000, with some getting over $50,000 — according to Steven Arenson of Arenson, Dittmar & Karban, the attorneys representing car wash workers.
Usually, the average award in a wage theft settlement is less than $6,000 for the plaintiff, said Samuel Estreicher — a professor at NYU Law School and director of the school's Center for Labor and Employment Law.
In August 2019, shortly before the lawsuit was filed, New Jersey amended its Wage and Hour Law to toughen the penalties imposed on employers...
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