New Jersey Delivery Workers to Receive $2.7 Million in Settlement for Misclassification

Publishers Circulation Fulfillment, Inc. resolves misclassification dispute with payment to 2,400 affected employees.

MORRISTOWN, NJ — Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo of the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) announced a significant settlement today, awarding $2.7 million in back pay and penalties to approximately 2,400 delivery workers misclassified by Publishers Circulation Fulfillment, Inc. (PCF). The Maryland-based company has agreed to rectify the misclassification that occurred from 2019 to 2022, affecting its largely immigrant workforce.

“Exploitation of employees, including through misclassification, is not only illegal, but also unjust, unethical, and unfair,” said Attorney General Platkin. “Workers lose essential protections, such as unemployment insurance and disability protection, and for businesses, unethical practices undermine fair competition across industries.”

“New Jersey workers are entitled to and deserve a just and fair labor market,” said Labor Commissioner Asaro-Angelo. “Moreover, if workers feel that they are being exploited, we strongly urge them to come forward so that we can investigate and obtain for them the back pay and benefits they were denied.”

The investigation, initiated by New Jersey’s Division of Wage and Hour Compliance in 2021, uncovered that PCF exerted substantial control over its delivery workers, who worked under strenuous conditions for low wages during overnight hours. This finding contradicted PCF’s classification of these workers as independent contractors, thereby denying them employee rights such as minimum wage, overtime pay, and protection against discrimination.

Under the terms of the settlement, PCF will disburse $1.6 million directly to the eligible workers in six installments and will pay $410,000 in penalties to NJDOL. An additional $700,000 in suspended penalties will be enforced if PCF fails to comply with the settlement terms. This follows a separate agreement from October 2022, where PCF was required to pay over $2.67 million for failing to contribute to state unemployment and disability funds between 2015 and 2018.

This resolution mandates PCF to recognize all current and future delivery workers as employees under New Jersey labor laws, ensuring they receive all associated legal protections and benefits. NJDOL will oversee the company's compliance with this agreement for the next two years.

The legal effort was led by Deputy Attorneys General Nadya A. Comas, Jeffrey L. Olshansky, and Marc D. Peralta, under the supervision of Labor Enforcement Section Chief Eve E. Weissman and Assistant Attorney General Mayur P. Saxena. This settlement underscores New Jersey's commitment to enforcing labor laws and protecting workers from unfair labor practices.