The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development in May added the names of 11 businesses to its Workplace Accountability in Labor List (The WALL), bringing to 272 the number of employers that have failed to address their outstanding liabilities for violations of wage, benefit or tax laws.
Any company whose name is on The WALL is barred from public contracting with state, county, or local governments until it pays liabilities in full.
The 11 businesses owe a total of $464,817.40 in unpaid contributions, penalties, and interest to the Unemployment Compensation Fund and State Disability Benefits Fund. There are now 272 businesses posted to The WALL, which collectively owe $25.5 million, either directly to their workers or to the state for unpaid taxes or contributions. Â
To date, NJDOL has recovered $613,208.63 in outstanding liabilities from businesses that have been posted to The WALL or have been warned their business would be added to The WALL if they did not resolve their outstanding liabilities.
Businesses receive letters warning that their company’s name will be posted to The WALL unless they remedy their outstanding liabilities; they are given 20 days from the date they receive notice to pay in full or challenge their pending placement on The WALL. Posting on The WALL is separate from other accountability measures, such as public contractor debarment and business license suspension or revocation.
The Wall initiative was established through bipartisan action (S-4226) in 2020 as part of an effort to combat worker misclassification and exploitation. It went live in September 2023.Â
