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ARTICLE · 13 MARCH 2025

Wage And Hour Laws Apply To Undocumented Workers

Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer
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Both the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), the federal act regulating wage and hour payment of employees, and the New Jersey State wage and hour laws apply to undocumented workers.

United StatesEmployment and HR
Stephanie D. Gironda
Stephanie D. Gironda

Both the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), the federal act regulating wage and hour payment of employees, and the New Jersey State wage and hour laws apply to undocumented workers. Labor enforcement agencies, such as the United States Department of Labor ("USDOL") and the New Jersey Department of Labor ("NJDOL") do not enforce the law differently depending on whether a worker is documented or undocumented. Employers cannot use a worker's undocumented status as a defense to paying undocumented workers minimum wage or overtime wages or to retaliate against them for making a complaint about their wages.

Law on Undocumented Workers

Jerusalem Café, LLC v. Lucas is an important 2012 case which decided the issue of whether undocumented workers can sue for an employer's failure to adhere to the FLSA. Several restaurant workers who were undocumented sued claiming they had not been paid minimum wage or overtime compensation for hours worked over 40 in a week. The employer

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