Earlier this month in Maia v. IEW Construction Group, the New Jersey Appellate Division confronted a critical issue concerning this state’s wage and hour laws. The case centered on amendments passed by the state Legislature in August 2019 to the Wage and Hour Law (WHL) and the Wage Payment Law (WPL), and whether the enhanced remedies in the amendments would apply to claims that may have accrued prior to their passage.

As background, the WHL mandates the payment of overtime to almost all New Jersey employees who work in excess of 40 hours per week. The WHL also establishes a minimum wage for employees. The WPL ensures the timely manner, mode, and payment of wages to employees. Since both laws are intended to be remedial in nature, New Jersey courts interpret them liberally to provide aggrieved employees the maximum remedies available to them.

In 2019, the Legislature passed the Wage Theft Act. This law amended portions of both the WHL and WPL, strengthening the remedies available to employees while also significantly lengthening the time period within which employees can file suit and claim damages. For example, the amendments lengthened the “look-back” period for the WHL from two years to six years. The look-back period refers to how many years prior to the filing of the complaint a plaintiff can allege he or she is owed damages. Finally, the amendments also added language under both the WHL and WPL allowing a plaintiff to recover liquidated damages of up to 200% of the...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiUWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lmpkc3VwcmEuY29tL2xl...