ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (KYW Newsradio) — New Jersey is cracking down on businesses who hire people as independent contractors, instead of regular employees, to get around state labor laws.
Gov. Phil Murphy used an annual meeting of the state’s Building and Construction Trades Council in Atlantic City to unveil the results of a formal study by the Labor Department into misclassification of workers.
“These are wages that make a difference, and you know this better than I do, in the lives of working families to put food on the table, to save for a kid’s education or for retirement or to enjoy a family vacation down at the shore,” Murphy said.
A check of 1% of the state shows a $462 million shortage in salary and benefits paid out to over 12,000 so-called independents. That covers not just construction, but everything from home health care to delivery workers.
And he added a warning to those who may be trying to get around state law.
“If you are a contractor engaging in these practices, we are either going to bring you into compliance or we’re going to put you out of business,” the governor said.
Enforcement is being enhanced, with double the number of agents in the field and an assistant labor commissioner specifically assigned to monitor wage and benefit compliance.
