It should be easier to collect back wages and benefits owed to you, thanks to a new New Jersey law that went into effect earlier this year. The law also steps up wage payment enforcement and increases penalties for those engaging in wage theft.

That occurs if an employee doesn’t get their legally required wages or benefits. It can be caused by failure to pay minimum wage or overtime, workers being forced to work “off the clock”, meal break violations, illegal deductions, tipped minimum wage violations, and employee misclassification (hourly workers labelled as independent contractors or salaried employees).

More money is lost every year to wage theft than to shoplifting, according to the National Employment Law Project. We are talking about millions and millions of dollars. Failing to enforce wage laws encourages employers to exploit workers, making the cheaters more profitable than honest, law-abiding employers. Wage theft also demoralizes honest employers, when they see their competitors doing better by acting worse.

The new law holds employers accountable for unpaid wages, benefits, or overtime as required by law. It does this through increased damages and fines, which make victims of wage theft eligible to receive both the wages owed and liquidated damages of 200% of wages owed. The end result of a successful action would mean triple damages for the short-changed employee, plus counsel fees. If the employee was retaliated against for seeking unpaid wages, there could also be treble damages based on the lost wages alone. Workers have a six-year statute of limitations, not two years as in prior law, to file a lawsuit in the matter.

If the new law is violated and a labor contractor or temp service is involved, there is “joint and several liability”. This means that damages could be obtained from the employer, the contractor or service, or both. This provides an aggrieved worker a greater chance of obtaining a judgment, since there may be more parties potentially on the financial hook. The law also prohibits an employer from shifting responsibility for complying with the new law onto the contractor or temp service.

Not paying workers isn’t just an administrative and civil law issue, it’s a criminal law violation. Under the new law, and employer’s first violation is punishable by a fine of between $500 and $1,000, by imprisonment for ten to ninety days, or a combination of both.  For a conviction for a second or subsequent violation, the fine increases to $1,000 to $2,000, imprisonment would be between ten to a hundred days, or both.

The new law establishes the crime of a “pattern of wage non-payment”. If an employer knowingly violates for a third or subsequent time, the crime of pattern of wage non-payment is classified as one of the third degree, normally punishable by a term of imprisonment of three to five years or a fine of up to $15,000, or both.

If you have a crisis or concern about wage theft, call the employment law attorneys at Kingston Law Group, at 609-683-7400, or contact us online. We will schedule you for a near-term and reduced fee initial consultation at our Central Jersey law offices in Kingston.  We are compassionate counsel and tough advocates.  We will listen to your facts, explain the law, and help you find a pathway to economic and social justice.  We will vindicate your rights if they have been violated. Call today.  You will be glad you did.