What Contractors Should Know About Wage Theft Laws
Wage payment violations occur in workplaces of all sizes across all industries, and generally involve a number of employees since most violations are the result of an improper pay procedures.
Last August, New Jersey became the fourth state to adopt a “wage theft” statute for wage and hour violations.
The new law provides for jail time in addition to increasing the fines for criminal convictions for underpaying workers. First-time offenders could face a fine of $500 to $4,000, imprisonment of 10 to 90 days, or both. It also allows workers to collect liquidated (double) damages in civil or criminal wage cases in addition to giving them up to six years to file a claim.