By Anthony Abrantes
Last year, several hundred construction workers toiled in the summer weather in what should have been a predictable workday at the 88 Regent St. apartments project in Jersey City. Predictability disappeared when a team of more than 60 investigators from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the New Jersey Department of the Treasury, and other agencies swarmed onto the site investigating charges of worker misclassification.
While we await the final legal outcome of the 88 Regent St. raid investigation, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development recently issued an initial finding. The NJDOL’s Division of Wage and Hour Compliance, along with the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Banking and Insurance, issued a stop-work order against three subcontractors on the job: Kadex Ceiling Team Inc. of Elizabeth and Blue Wall Drywall Corp and Drywall Builders Corp., both of Plainfield, NJ.
The three contractors owed $19,800 for back wages, according to the NJDOL. However, the fines associated with the back wages didn’t stop there. In addition to the misclassification penalty, the state assessed more than $151,900 in further penalties and fees, according to the NJDOL.
All three contractors have the option of an appeal. One of the firms has already agreed to debarment, essentially removing them from future public works projects.
These recent charges suggest a firmer enforcement trend in New Jersey.
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