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Stop-Work Orders, Subpoenas Issued to Two Contractors for Violations at Dunellen School Job Site
Stop-Work Orders, Subpoenas Issued to Two Contractors for Violations at Dunellen School Job Site
NJDOL Issues Stop-Work Orders, Subpoenas, to Bismark Construction & Concrete Solutions Worksite at John Faber Elementary School in Dunellen.
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The New Jersey Labor Department recently issued stop-work orders to two contractors, Bismark Construction Corp. of Newark and subcontractor Concrete Solutions NJ LLC of West Caldwell, responsible for a construction job at John Faber School in Dunellen.
Investigators from the NJDOL’s Division of Wage and Hour Contract Compliance conducted a site inspection at the John Faber School worksite on September 28. They delivered the stop-work orders and subpoenas on September 29 to the two contractors working at 400 High Street, Dunellen, in Middlesex County.
Bismark Construction Corp. was cited for hiring an unregistered subcontractor, while Concrete Solutions NJ LLC was cited for failure to register. Subpoenas issued to both companies ask the contractors to produce time and payroll records.
In June this year, NJDOL, the NJ Department of Community Affairs’ Division of Local Government Services (DLGS), and the NJ Department of Education (DOE) sent a letter to local governments and boards of education reiterating their responsibilities under the New Jersey Prevailing Wage Act (NJPWA).
NJPWA requires minimum pay rates for laborers, craftspeople, and apprentices employed on public works projects. The law also requires contractors performing public work projects to participate in a USDOL Registered Apprenticeship Program, a taxpayer-funded career education program.
NJDOL maintains a record of registered public works contractors that should be consulted by any government agency or entity before hiring for a public works job. The current list contains more than 6,000 businesses and is searchable by name, address, registration date, and certificate number.
In 2019, Governor Murphy signed a law giving the NJDOL the power to immediately halt work at any public or private work site – both construction and non-construction sites – when an investigation finds evidence that an employer has violated any state wage, benefit, or tax laws.
An employer may appeal the stop-work order, wherein the NJDOL has seven days to schedule a hearing. Additionally, the NJDOL can issue civil penalties of $5,000 per day against an employer conducting business in violation of a stop-work order.
A stop-work order is lifted if and when any remaining back wages and penalties have been paid and all related issues have been resolved.
For more information on New Jersey’s wage and hour laws, please visit myworkrights.nj.gov.
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