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NJ Department of Labor touts enforcement gains, modernization and apprenticeship growth
Summary
Commissioner Robert Sciro Angelo told a Senate committee the Department of Labor has strengthened enforcement, modernized services and expanded apprenticeship and workforce programs, citing recovered wages, stop-work orders and a new claimant portal.
Commissioner Robert Sciro Angelo told the State Senate committee that the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development has substantially expanded enforcement capacity and modernized service delivery since 2018.
"Don't stop," Sciro Angelo said, urging lawmakers to continue supporting the department's efforts. He described a department that has grown its enforcement and investigative workforce, launched a claimant intake app and an online career hub, and overseen large wage-recovery actions.
Sciro Angelo said the administration and department delivered nearly $40,000,000,000 in benefits to 1,600,000 workers in 20 months at the pandemic peak and credited hiring and technological upgrades for improved performance. He highlighted that recoveries in back wages rose from about $4.9 million in 2018 to $19 million in 2024 and that the department has assessed roughly $37 million in back wages so far this year.
On enforcement, Sciro Angelo described the department's stop-work authority as a deterrent that is reserved for the most egregious violations: "That is a win for everyone involved," he said of employers coming into compliance before orders are needed. He said the agency has issued roughly 200 stop-work 'red posters' and maintains a workplace accountability list with 261 businesses that collectively owe about $25,000,000 and are barred from public contracting until they satisfy obligations.
The commissioner credited bipartisan legislative support for recent statutory changes that strengthened prevailing-wage protections and closed enforcement loopholes. He cited the signing of a temporary workers bill of rights and a domestic worker bill of rights and said initial enforcement under the temp workers law resulted in more than $1,000,000 assessed in back wages in the first three cases.
Sciro Angelo also described workforce development efforts: registered apprenticeship programs have increased since 02/2018, industry partnerships have worked with hundreds of employers, and the department's mycareer.nj.gov portal has drawn nearly 492,000 unique users. He said the division of vocational rehabilitation has made close to 20,000 connections on behalf of jobseekers with disabilities.
The hearing included praise from several senators for the department's responsiveness during and after the pandemic, while some lawmakers pressed for data on outcomes and the cost of services. Sciro Angelo said modernization is ongoing and that investments — about $90,000,000 to date, mostly federal funds — have been focused on continuous improvements rather than single, high-risk replacement projects.
The committee asked the department to provide requested financial spreadsheets and additional accounting on specific enforcement and program spending; Sciro Angelo agreed to supply that material through the committee chair. The commissioner concluded by thanking staff and the committee and offering to answer follow-up questions.
