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New Jersey Department of Labor

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NJ Magazine Distributor Ordered To Pay $300K In Back Wages, Penalties: Attorney General NJ Magazine Distributor Ordered To Pay $300K In Back Wages, Penalties: Attorney General
NJ Magazine Distributor Ordered To Pay $300K In Back Wages, Penalties: Attorney General A New Jersey magazine and newspaper distributor will be paying nearly $300,000 in back wages and penalties after misclassifying employees as independent contractors, authorities said. The New Jersey Department of Labor began investigating NJ Penn, which has offices in Jersey City, and determined that between 2018 and 2022, NJ Penn misclassified at least 105 newspaper delivery, warehouse, and other workers as independent contractors instead of employees, in violation of New Jersey law, the New Jersey Attorney General's Office said. NJ Penn violated numerous labor laws, including failing to p…

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by Sam Barron
Business
27 NJ Boston Market Stores Issued Stop-Work Orders By Labor Department 27 NJ Boston Market Stores Issued Stop-Work Orders By Labor Department
27 NJ Boston Market Stores Issued Stop-Work Orders By Labor Department Boston Market stores across New Jersey owe its workers thousands of dollars in back wages, and the state's labor department is taking action. The NJDOL issued 27 stop-work orders to Boston Market locations throughout the state on Monday, Aug. 14 saying the rotisserie chicken franchise owes more than $600,000 in back wages to 314 employees. The investigation began after the NJDOL received a complaint from an employee at a restaurant in Hamilton last November. Since then, almost three dozen people have come forward, naming several other locations. Citations were issued for unpaid/late pa…

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by Sam Barron
News
Wanaque Man Gets 3½ Years, No Parole, For Assaulting Sister, Having Assault Weapon, Pipe Bomb Wanaque Man Gets 3½ Years, No Parole, For Assaulting Sister, Having Assault Weapon, Pipe Bomb
Wanaque Man Gets 3½ Years, No Parole, For Assaulting Sister, Having Assault Weapon, Pipe Bomb UPDATE: A Wanaque man must serve at least 3½ years in state prison before he'll be eligible for attacking his sister in their home and having an assault rifle and pipe bomb in his possession. Michael Wierciszewski, 25, was arrested by borough police after the victim told them that he lunged at her with a knife while trying to kill her at the family’s Jackson Street residence on Nov. 24, 2021. A search of the home turned up the improvised device, along with a Century Arms RAS 47 rifle that had been modified to remove the stock and accommodate a silencer, authorities said at the time. The vi…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Wanaque Man Looking At 3½ Years For Having Assault Weapon, Explosives While Threatening Sister Wanaque Man Looking At 3½ Years For Having Assault Weapon, Explosives While Threatening Sister
Wanaque Man Looking At 3½ Years For Having Assault Weapon, Explosives While Threatening Sister A Wanaque man must serve at least 3½ years in state prison before he'll be eligible for parole after admitting in state court on Wednesday that he had an assault rifle and a pipe bomb when he attacked his sister in their home, authorities said. Michael Wierciszewski, 25, was arrested by borough police after the victim told them he lunged at her with a knife while trying to kill her at the family’s Jackson Street residence on Nov. 24, 2021. A search of the home turned up the improvised device, along with a Century Arms RAS 47 rifle that had been modified to remove the stock and accommodate a…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Why Uber Is Paying NJ Record $100 Million Back In Taxes Why Uber Is Paying NJ Record $100 Million Back In Taxes
Why Uber Is Paying NJ Record $100 Million Back In Taxes In a record-setting misclassification case, Uber has agreed to pay New Jersey $100 million back in taxes after a state audit found the ride-share company misclassified drivers as independent contractors. This is the most amount of money New Jersey has received for this type of case, and covers 297,866 drivers. The payment follows New Jersey Department of Labor (NJDOL) audits that assessed Uber and its subsidiary Rasier LLC a combined $78 million in past-due contributions plus penalties and interest of $22 million.  Employers who misclassify workers as independent contractors skip…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Sussex Man Who Spent $5.6M COVID Relief Money On Stock Market, Luxury Car, More Sentenced Sussex Man Who Spent $5.6M COVID Relief Money On Stock Market, Luxury Car, More Sentenced
Sussex Man Who Spent $5.6M COVID Relief Money On Stock Market, Luxury Car, More Sentenced A Sussex County man was sentenced Tuesday to more than five years in federal prison for spending $5.6 million in federal COVID-19 pandemic business loans for himself, authorities said. Azhar Sarwar Rana, 31, of Newton will have to serve out just about all of the 64-month sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. The federal Paycheck Protection Program was designed to keep struggling small businesses afloat during the pandemic. Rana used the money, instead, to invest millions in the stock market, make a payment to a luxury car dealership and send hundreds of thous…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
COVID-19: Feds Nab Fleeing Sussex Man Accused Of Pocketing $5.6M Small Biz Pandemic Loan COVID-19: Feds Nab Fleeing Sussex Man Accused Of Pocketing $5.6M Small Biz Pandemic Loan
Covid-19: Feds Nab Fleeing Sussex Man Accused Of Pocketing $5.6M Small Biz Pandemic Loan A Sussex County man who collected $5.6 million in federal COVID-19 pandemic loans that he wasn't entitled to was about to board a flight to Pakistan when federal agents arrested him, authorities said. Azhar Sarwar Rana, 30, of Newton, took the money -- designed to keep struggling small businesses afloat during the pandemic – and invested millions in the stock market, made a payment to a luxury car dealership and sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to accounts in Pakistan, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Rana submitted an application for a stimulus loan under the federal Paycheck Prote…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
POLL: Most Unemployed New Jerseyans Have Received Benefits -- Have You? POLL: Most Unemployed New Jerseyans Have Received Benefits -- Have You?
Poll: Most Unemployed New Jerseyans Have Received Benefits -- Have You? Approximately 94 percent of the state's unemployed citizens have received benefits, Gov. Phil Murphy said Thursday. Have you? Story continues below poll. New Jersey has surpassed another grim milestone during the coronavirus outbreak, state officials said. More than 1 million residents have applied for unemployment benefits between March 15 and June 6, receiving 6.2 billion in jobless payments -- the largest volume in the state's history. All 70,000 residents who have exhausted their state benefits have qualified for federal pandemic emergency jobless payments, he said. "It's by far the l…

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by Jon Craig
Business
'Unhappy? Go To Another State,' Murphy Tells NJ's Jobless 'Unhappy? Go To Another State,' Murphy Tells NJ's Jobless
'Unhappy? Go To Another State,' Murphy Tells NJ's Jobless In case you missed the end of Thursday's daily news briefing, Gov. Phil Murphy told anyone unhappy with the guy in charge of New Jersey unemployment to "Go to another state."  The governor said anyone who doesn’t like state Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo can move. Murphy’s dismissive remark came when asked by a reporter about Bergen County Assemblyman Kevin Rooney’s call for the labor commissioner to fix the backlogged unemployment system or resign. Earlier, state officials announced that more than a million New Jersey residents have filed jobless claims due to the coronavirus …

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by Jon Craig
News
Owner's Death Puts Petland Out Of Business Owner's Death Puts Petland Out Of Business
Owner's Death Puts Petland Out Of Business Petland Discounts will close its 10 New Jersey stores, costing nearly 300 workers their jobs, following the death of the company's owner and founder. Neil Padron, who was 74 when he succumbed to bladder cancer last month, launched the business in September 1965 in Queens, N.Y. -- originally as a tropical fish store. Petland Discounts at its peak had 118 locations across the tri-state area.  All existing locations are expected to close, including 10 in New Jersey: Westwood, Paterson, Jersey City, West New York, North Bergen, Bayonne, Elizabeth, Orange and Irvington. Petland filed…

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by Cecilia Levine