Contractors for a Jersey City luxury high-rise paid workers under the table, failed to issue timely paychecks and stiffed workers on overtime pay, according to a state lawsuit.
Attorney General Matthew Platkin and a labor commissioner sued Grand Street Construction for paying workers off the books and denying them benefits while building the 32-story, 392-unit tower at 88 Regent Street, NJ.com reported.
In addition to Grand Street, the state accused five subcontractors, BWK Construction, P&B Partitions, Blue Star Drywall, Drywall Builders and Williams Drywall, of illegal labor practices.
The companies, which built the apartment tower between 2018 and 2022, are accused of failing to pay timely wages and overtime as well as not providing earned sick leave, according to the complaint. They’re also accused of failing to make contributions to the New Jersey Unemployment Compensation Fund, Disability Fund and Workforce Development Fund
In addition, New Jersey officials allege the companies hired a construction worker under age 18, according to Northjersey.com.
“Our state’s construction workers make enormous contributions to our state’s economy, and they deserve the full protection of our state’s labor laws,“ Platkin said in a statement. “Too often, however, general contractors in the construction industry rely on and benefit from subcontractors who take advantage of workers and deny them their rightful pay.”
“Construction firms that cheat workers out of their hard-earned pay they depend on will not escape our scrutiny,” New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo said.
Jersey City has seen a development boom over the last few years. This project has been under investigation since 2021, when the state’s Wage and Hour Compliance Division received a complaint about potential illegal conduct.
In July 2021, officials from the Labor Department, the state Treasury and the Department of Banking and Insurance inspected the construction site and found that 16 of the 34 contractors and subcontractors violated New Jersey’s wage, benefit and tax laws.
The Labor Department issued an assessment and found that in 2023, workers were owed $1.3 million in back wages and penalties.
When Northjersey.com called for comment, a woman at Grand Street Construction hung up the phone.
— Dana Bartholomew
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