To kick off 2024, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development is sending the state’s laundromat owners a package of materials to help ensure they begin the new year in compliance with the state’s labor laws.
The January mailing is part of an ongoing strategic enforcement initiative in the retail, coin-operated laundromat industry by the agency’s Division of Wage and Hour Compliance to make sure employers are aware of – and in compliance with – earned sick leave, minimum wage, overtime, and other labor laws.
Strategic enforcement focuses on industries with a history of non-compliance with existing laws and on those whose employees are less likely to file complaints with the department. The laundromat industry employs “many vulnerable, low-wage workers who have experienced violations of their work rights, the department stated.
The NJDOL holds non-compliant employers in the laundry industry accountable for labor violations. At the same time, it believes that providing outreach and education to all laundromat employers and workers about labor rights is a key component of strategic enforcement. Understanding these laws ensures that laundromat employers prevent costly violations for their business and that workers are treated well.
The Division of Wage and Hour Compliance will mail this compliance package to 950 laundromats throughout New Jersey. This outreach effort will equip store owners with the knowledge to understand their responsibilities so that they meet their obligations.
“Our department believes the vast majority of employers are good and honest actors who want to follow the law and treat their employees with dignity and respect,” said Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo. “We are making sure small and growing businesses have the information and guidance they need to comply with state laws, while calling out and punishing employers who refuse to come into compliance.”
The NJDOL also has been working with the Coin Laundry Association since last summer to provide hands-on help to laundromat owners to increase awareness of workers’ rights and share best practices that eliminate worker exploitation and prevent repeated violations of the state’s wage and hour laws.
Under the law, retail laundry and other employers are required to:
- Pay their employees at least the state minimum wage, which increased to $15.13 for most employees on January 1.
- Pay their employees overtime of one-and-a-half times their regular pay rate when they work more than 40 hours in a workweek.
- Appropriately classify workers as employees.
- Register in the new online system for working papers when hiring a minor worker under age 18; ensure minors work in safe jobs; and provide additional protections under state child labor laws.
- Allow their employees – including full-time, part-time, and temporary employees – to earn and use sick leave to care for themselves or loved ones.
- Display all required employment posters where employees can see them at the workplace.
Laundromat employers who took the initiative to understand employment requirements, provide basic training for their employees, and establish good record-keeping practices tended to have fewer or no violations, according to the NJDOL
The compliance package being sent to all laundromat owners in the state will include the Employer’s Guide to Wage and Hour Laws, the Earned Sick Leave Compliance Checklist, and the required Earned Sick Leave employment poster. In addition, on-demand resources such as flyers, brochures, and a labor laws webinar are available on the Wage and Hour Division’s website.
The NJDOL noted that laundromats will continue to be a strategic enforcement focus in 2024. Any business that would like to reach out to the NJDOL to ensure they’re maintaining a lawful workplace is encouraged to email: [email protected].
