Ripped-Off Basking Ridge Workers Can Collect With Online Tool

By Eric Kiefer

Has a former employer ever stiffed you for owed wages?

If so, the U.S. Department of Labor may have a check waiting for you.

In 2014, the agency’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) reported that so far, it’s recovered more than $240 million owed to more than 270,000 workers nationwide.

Currently, the WHD is sitting on more than $7.15 million in New Jersey wages it’s collected via enforcement actions, NorthJersey.com reported.

“One of our top priorities is to ensure that the money we collect is rightfully and expeditiously paid to the workers who earned it,” the agency states on its website.

“In most cases, we’re successful in ensuring that all employees due back wages receive them. However, sometimes it’s a challenge, especially finding workers in sectors of the economy where work is temporary and seasonal like in agriculture, or where tenures may be short-lived like in fast food.”

Workers who think they may be owed back wages from an employer can check the WAD’s online tool, Workers Owed Wages (WOW). If he/she has a claim, they can submit their mailing information online, and receive a WAD check in the mail for the full amount owed.

Click here to access the WOW tool

LOCAL WAGE AND HOUR VIOLATIONS

According to NorthJersey.com, companies who allegedly violated state law include:

• Il Vecchio Café, an Italian restaurant in Caldwell, which agreed to pay $22,246 to 55 workers for minimum-wage and overtime violations
• H-Mart, an Asian food market in Fort Lee that owed $31,418 to 75 employees for overtime violations
• Bayonne Dry Dock and Repair Co. and Coastwide Material Supply Corp., which has paid $360,000 in overtime back wages to 224 employees who repaired Navy and Coast Guard ships