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Business groups urge caution as committee releases bill to fund county prosecutors for wage enforcement
Summary
SB1790 would direct the Department of Labor to fund and train county prosecutors to investigate wage and hour violations; NJBIA opposed, saying it could divert prosecutors from other priorities; the committee voted to release the bill.
Senate Bill 1790 would require the Department of Labor and Workforce Development to provide funding and training to county prosecutors for the investigation and prosecution of state wage and hour laws and worker exploitation. Christopher Emigholz of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association told the committee the association opposes the bill’s approach, saying it risks reprioritizing prosecutor resources.
Emigholz said NJBIA does not condone wage theft but argued that county prosecutors are already tasked with serious crimes such as human trafficking and murder and that diverting prosecutorial resources could be problematic. A committee member responded that prosecutors can handle multiple types of crime and that if conduct is criminal it should be pursued. The committee subsequently voted to release SB1790 from committee.
