Bill Text: NJ A4431 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Concerns stop-work orders related to construction worker employment.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-09-17 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Labor Committee [A4431 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-A4431-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman YVONNE LOPEZ
District 19 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Concerns stop-work orders related to construction worker employment.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the disclosure of records and the issuance of stop-work orders and supplementing P.L.2007, c.114 (C.34:20-1 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Legislature finds that the failure of an employer to comply with the requirements with respect to payment of wages and unemployment insurance contributions, and providing workers' compensation coverage poses an immediate danger to the public health, safety and welfare.
b. With respect to any individual regarded as an employee under the provisions of section 4 of P.L.2007, c.114 (C.34:20-4), the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development and any agent of the commissioner, upon receipt of a complaint for nonpayment of wages, a violation of R.S.34:15-79, or a failure to meet obligations as provided in R.S.43:21-7 and R.S.43:21-14, is authorized to enter, during usual business hours, the place of business or employment of any employer of the individual to determine compliance with the wage payment laws, R.S.34:15-79, R.S.43:21-7, or R.S.43:21-14, and for that purpose may examine payroll and other records and interview employees, call hearings, administer oaths, take testimony under oath and take depositions.
c. The commissioner may issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and the production of books and records. Any employer or agent of the employer who willfully fails to furnish time and wage records as required by law to the commissioner or agent of the commissioner upon request, or who refuses to admit the commissioner or agent to the place of employment of the employer, or who hinders or delays the commissioner or agent in the performance of duties in the enforcement of this section, shall be fined not less than $1,000 and shall be guilty of a disorderly persons offense. Each day of the failure to furnish the time and wage records to the commissioner or agent shall constitute a separate offense, and each day of refusal to admit, of hindering, or of delaying the commissioner or agent shall constitute a separate offense.
d. (1) If the commissioner determines, after an investigation pursuant to subsection b. of this section, that an employer is in violation of any wage and hour law or of R.S.34:15-79, or has failed to meet obligations as provided in R.S.43:21-7 or R.S.43:21-14, the commissioner shall issue, not later than 72 hours after making the determination, a stop-work order against the employer requiring cessation of all business operations of the employer at the specific place of business or employment in which the violation exists. The stop-work order shall be issued only against the employer found to be in violation or non-compliance. The order shall be effective when served upon the employer at the place of business or, for a particular employer worksite, when served at that worksite. The order shall remain in effect until the commissioner issues an order releasing the stop-work order upon finding that the employer has come into compliance and has paid any penalty assessed, or after the commissioner determines, in a hearing held pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection, that the employer did not commit the act on which the order was based. The stop-work order shall be effective against any successor entity that has one or more of the same principals or officers as the corporation, partnership or sole proprietorship against which the stop-work order was issued and are engaged in the same or equivalent trade or activity.
(2) An employer who is subject to a stop-work order shall have the right to apply to the commissioner, not more than 10 days after the order is issued, for a hearing to contest whether the employer committed the underlying act on which the order was based, and the hearing shall be afforded and a decision rendered within 48 hours of the application.
(3) As an alternative to issuing a stop-work order in accordance with paragraph (1) of this subsection, if the commissioner determines, after an investigation pursuant to subsection b. of this section, that an employer is in violation of R.S.34:15-79, the commissioner may provide and transfer all details and materials related to the investigation under this section to the Director of the Division of Workers' Compensation for any enforcement of penalties or stop-work orders the director determines are appropriate.
e. The commissioner shall, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), promulgate rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this section.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill provides for the issuance of a stop-work order in connection with a failure to pay required wages and contributions related to employment of construction workers. It also provides penalties for the failure to provide records in connection with investigations of those failures.
