The employer also kept zero payroll records — and a court presumption made it worse

An employer who kept zero payroll records and paid a worker only with a basement apartment just lost at New Jersey's highest court.

In Sergio Lopez v. Marmic LLC (A-27-24) (089632), decided March 19, 2026, the state Supreme Court ruled unanimously that employers cannot substitute informal arrangements for lawful wages — and that failing to maintain employment records can turn a court presumption squarely against them.

The case centered on Sergio Lopez, hired in June 2015 as superintendent of two Newark buildings owned by Marmic LLC, a realty management company. After discovering Lopez had provided an invalid Social Security number on his W-4 form, owner Mike Ruane stopped paying him — telling Lopez it would be "against the law" — and offered a rent-free basement apartment instead.

Lopez continued working for more than three years. Marmic maintained no records relating to his employment. At trial, Ruane agreed Lopez had performed the work he described. Yet the lower courts dismissed the claim, finding Lopez not credible because of the invalid Social Security number and faulting him for not proving his exact hours.

The Supreme Court saw it differently.

Chief Justice Rabner, writing for all seven justices, held that there is no broad-based exception to New Jersey's wage and hour laws for barter arrangements. A rent-free apartment, the Court found, is not proof that the employer properly...

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