NJDOL Reaches Landmark Compliance Agreement to Protect Rights Of Drywall Workers
TRENTON – 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.
The Wage and Hour Division found 48 misclassified employees working for Donald Drywall on a construction project in Hudson County. In addition to misclassifying employees, the subcontractor failed to pay employees minimum wage, failed to pay all wages owed, and failed to pay wages at least every two weeks, the investigation found. Some employees were being paid in cash and off the books, depriving them of safety-net employee benefits such as workers’ compensation, overtime, and more.
“The first round of investigations revealed that misclassification of drywall workers is rampant,” said Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo. “Our investigators are dedicated to rooting out worker exploitation; I’m proud of their collaboration with employers and employee advocates to effect lasting change in industries with high rates of non-compliance such as drywall installation.”
Strategic enforcement is a proactive enforcement method spearheaded by NJDOL’s Wage and Hour Division that focuses on industries with a...
Dish Wireless LLC agreed to pay roughly $17 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act, common law, and the Communications Act of 1934 relating to claims submitted to Fed...