State labor officials issued stop-work orders against two New York contractors on a Newark apartment project and lifted two separate orders after a Union City contractor settled violations on state public works jobs.
TRENTON, NJ – The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development announced two April 24 enforcement updates involving construction contractors accused of wage, classification, payroll, prevailing wage, and earned sick-leave violations. Together, the actions affected at least 90 workers across private and public construction projects, according to the department.
In one case, NJDOL said it issued separate April 14 stop-work orders against DM Windows LLC of Staten Island and BLK1 Construction Corp. of New York City after investigators found violations at an apartment building project at 430 Market Street in Newark. The department said the orders halted work for DM Windows on window installation work and BLK1 on carpentry work.
According to NJDOL, the alleged violations included improper worker classification, failure to properly classify employees, failure to provide requested records, unpaid or late wages, minimum wage and overtime violations, and earned sick-leave recordkeeping, notice, and posting violations. The department said 43 workers were affected in the DM Windows case and 38 workers were affected in the BLK1 case.
In a separate April 24 release, NJDOL said it lifted two stop-work orders against Solidframe LLC of Union City after the contractor paid all liabilities assessed by the department. Those orders had been issued April 10 for public works projects at the Island Beach State Park Nature Center and the New Jersey State Library.
The Island Beach State Park case involved roof replacement and exterior upgrades, while the State Library case involved interior upgrades to window frames and doors. NJDOL said the violations included unpaid or late wages, classification issues, prevailing wage violations, inaccurate certified payrolls, and earned sick-leave violations. The two public works cases affected nine workers combined.
Stop-work orders allow the state to halt work at a site when labor violations are found. NJDOL said employers served with such orders may face civil penalties of $5,000 per day if they conduct business in violation of the order, and that an order may be lifted once back wages, penalties, and related compliance issues are resolved.