Under The New Jersey Wage Payment Law, employers must pay wages to most employees in full at least twice monthly. If not paid, the employees can file a private lawsuit for the unpaid wages, plus up to 200% in liquidated damages totaling triple the amount of damages plus attorney fees.
Don’t sit on your rights. If your employer has not paid you owed wages for work or retaliated against you for complaining what you believe is your employer’s improper wage payment, you should contact this law firm today for a free consultation. I accept cases from all over NJ and have locations in Southern, Central and Northern NJ to meet with clients. Employment/Civil Rights Law. If you are experiencing such non-payment or retaliation, you should contact this office immediately at 201 599-9600 for a free consultation.
Am I a Worker Who Is Covered under the Wage Payment Law?
Not all workers but only an “employee” is covered by the Wage Payment Law (WPA). Under the WPA § 34:11-4.1 (b) section of definitions, it defines an “employee” as:
b. “Employee” means any person suffered or permitted to work by an employer, except that independent contractors and subcontractors shall not be considered employees.
Note: your employer may have misclassified you as an independent contractor, when in reality you are an “employee”, not an independent contractor under New Jersey law. Employers sometimes purposely have misclassified workers to be independent contractors to avoid paying moneys toward the many benefits that employees have, benefits which independent contractors do not have. Employees have numerous legal protections in employment that are not afforded to independent contractors.
The ABC Test to Determine If You Are a Covered Employee
The courts apply what is commonly known as the “ABC test” to determine if the employer has misclassified you. Under the ABC test, a NJ worker should be considered an employee unless all three of the following circumstances apply:
A) The individual has been and will continue to be free from control or direction over the performance of work performed, both under contract of service and in fact; and
B) The work is either outside the usual course of the business for which such service is performed, or the work is performed outside of all the places of business of the enterprise for which such service is performed; and
C) The individual is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession or business.
The ABC test to determine whether or not a worker is an employee, is formally codified in N.J.S.A. 43:21-19(i)(6)(A)(B)(C), which applies to the Unemployment Compensation Law however this ABC Test is also applied for the Wage and Hour Law and Wage Payment Law. See NJ Employment Attorney, Independent Contractor? Independent Contractors and Department of Labor Proposed Rules of Classification
What Are Considered “Wages”?
Under the WPL, Wages are defined under § 34:11-4.1 (c) as follows:
c. “Wages” means the direct monetary compensation for labor or services rendered by an employee, where the amount is determined on a time, task, piece, or commission basis excluding any form of supplementary incentives and bonuses which are calculated independently of regular wages and paid in addition thereto.
Note, the statute specially defines commissions as wages that are covered under the WPL. See NJ Employment Attorney, When Employers Refuse to Pay Commissions as Wages, it Could Entitle Employee to Treble Damages.
How Often Is My Employer Required to Pay Me?
The Wage Payment Law mandates that employers adhere to strict statutory guidelines in payment of wages to employee or else risk penalties. Under § 34:11-4.2, Time and mode of payment; paydays, except as otherwise provided by law, every employer:
shall pay the full amount of wages due to his employees at least twice during each calendar month, regular paydays designated in advance by the employer, in lawful money of the United States or with checks on banks where suitable arrangements are made for the cashing of such checks by employees without difficulty and for the full amount for which they are drawn.
Note: This rule is modified for bona fide executive, supervisory and other special classifications of employees under § 34:11-4.2 as follows: An employer may establish regular paydays less frequently than semimonthly for bona fide executive, supervisory and other special classifications of employees provided that the employee shall be paid in full at least once each calendar month on a regularly established schedule.
Suppose my regular payday falls on a nonwork day?
If a regular payday falls on a nonwork day, that is, a day on which the workplace of an employee is not open for business, payment shall be made on the immediately preceding work day, except where it is otherwise provided for in a collective bargaining agreement.
The end of the pay period for which payment is made on a regular payday shall be not more than 10 working days before such regular payday, provided that if the regular payday falls on a nonwork day payment shall be made on the preceding work day.
Employer may not retaliate for demanding legal wages owed.
Under the New Jersey Wage Payment Law § 34:11-4.10, the triple damages award and attorney’s fees also applies to an employer who takes a retaliatory action against an employee by discharging or in any other manner discriminating against the employee because the employee has made a complaint to that employee’s employer, to the commissioner, or to that employee’s authorized representative, that the employer has not paid the employee the full amount of wages agreed. New Jersey Wage Payment Law § 34:11-4.10. New Jersey Whistleblower Laws Attorney
Can My Wage Payments Be Deposited Directly into a Bank Account?
Yes, When Certain Criteria under § 34:11-4.2a is Satisfied.
WPL § 34:11-4.2a. Payment by deposit in financial institution; consent by employee; cancellation; notice states:
In lieu of paying wages directly to employees an employer may, with the consent of some or all his employees, arrange with a financial institution or financial institutions to pay the wages of each employee so consenting by causing the amount of such employee’s wages to be deposited in an account maintained in any such financial institution in the name of such employee, subject to withdrawal and other disposition by such employee to the same extent and in the same manner as if such deposit were made directly by such employee.
Notice by employee: Any such employee may, on timely notice to the employer, elect not to have his wages deposited as provided herein, and to be paid such wages directly in the manner otherwise provided by law. Financial institution as used herein means any State-chartered or Federally-chartered institution authorized to accept deposits in New Jersey. See also Unequal Pay and Wage Claims - Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
If your employer has not paid you owed wages for work or retaliated against you for complaining what you believe is your employer’s improper wage payment, you should contact this law firm today for a free consultation. I am an experienced, aggressive and compassionate employment attorney who will be aggressive about enforcing your rights. This law office accepts cases from all over New Jersey and has locations in Southern, Central and Northern NJ to meet with clients.
Contact Hope A. Lang, Attorney at Law today for a free consultation.
Hope A. Lang, Attorney at Law represents workers throughout the entire state, including Hackensack, Jersey City, Newark, Irvington, Orange, East Orange, Trenton, Paterson, Montclair, Elizabeth, North Brunswick, Cherry Hill, Vineland, Union, Plainfield, Hamilton Township, Lakewood, Edison, Parsippany-Troy Hills, Franklin, Lakewood, and every NJ County, including Bergen, Hudson, Middlesex, Essex, Monmouth, Somerset, Ocean, Union, Camden, Passaic, Morris, Gloucester, Atlantic, Burlington, Camden Counties.