Stop-Work Orders Issued At 27 NJ Boston Market Locations; $600K Owed In Back Pay

NEW JERSEY — More than two dozen Boston Market locations in the Garden State have been ordered to stop operating, after a state investigation found "multiple violations of workers’ rights."

The company owes more than $600,000 in back wages to 314 workers, according to the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL).

Boston Market is on the hook for more than $2.5 million in back wages, fees, and damages, which officials assessed to parent company Boston Chicken of NJ, LLC.

A Boston Market worker in Hamilton (Mercer County) submitted a complaint last November to the department's Division of Wage and Hour and Compliance that prompted an investigation, state officials said.

Since the state began investigating, NJDOL officials said the division received close to three dozen more complaints about several New Jersey Boston Market locations.

Citations included unpaid/late payment of wages, hindrance of the investigation, failure to pay minimum wage, records violations, failure to pay earned sick leave, and failure to maintain records for earned sick leave, said the NJDOL.

The NJDOL’s Division of Wage and Hour and Contract Compliance has the authority to immediately halt work at any public or private worksite when an investigation finds evidence that an employer may have violated state wage, benefit or tax laws. Boston Market has requested a hearing to appeal the order, said the NJDOL on Tuesday, Aug. 15.

The state Department of Labor continues to monitor locations where stop-work orders have been issued, and can assess civil penalties of $5,000 per day against an employer conducting business in violation of the order.

Here is a complete list of Boston Market locations that were issued a stop-work order, according to the NJDOL:

• 491 Ridge Rd, North Arlington, NJ 07031
• 314 Essex Street, Lodi, NJ 07644
• 180 Hackensack Avenue, Hackensack, NJ 07602
• 21-20 Broadway, Fair Lawn, NJ 07410
• 321 Broad Street, Ridgefield, NJ 07657
• 20 Wycoff Avenue, Waldwick, NJ 07463
• 395 NJ-17, Mahwah, NJ 07430
• 175 Kinderkamack Road, Emerson, NJ 07630
• 275 Livingston Street, North Vale, NJ 07647
• 471 Central Avenue, East Orange, NJ 07018
• 247 NJ-10 East, Succasunna, NJ 07876
• 332 Route 10 West, East Hanover, NJ 07936
• 1160 US-46, Clifton, NJ 07013
• 1342 Clifton Avenue, Clifton, NJ 07012
• 523 Chestnut Street Union, NJ 07083
• 770 Route 33, Hamilton, NJ 08619
• 1729 N. Olden Avenue, Ewing Township, NJ 08638
• 300 Rt-18, East Brunswick, NJ 08816
• 878 US Rt. 1 North Bound, Edison, NJ 08817
• 1560 St. Georges Avenue, Avenel, NJ 07001
• 4159 US 9, Howell, NJ 07731
• 1103 Broad Street, Shrewsbury, NJ 07702
• 900 Easton Avenue #165, Somerset, NJ 08873
• 514 High Street, Mt. Holly, NJ 08060
• 5716 Blackhorse Pike, Blackwood, NJ 08012
• 891 Hurffville Road, Woodbury, NJ 08096
• 301 S. Main Road, Vineland, NJ 08360