Thread: N.J. Landscape Contractor Ordered to Pay Workers' Wages

N.J. Landscape Contractor Ordered to Pay Workers' Wages
(article originated in the Asbury Park Press)

http://www.lawnandlandscape.com/news/news.asp?ID=4567

A judge ordered the owner of a Freehold, N.J., landscaping and tree service company to pay two immigrant workers a total of $2,910 in owed wages.

Superior Court Judge Mark A. Sullivan Jr. told Michael Curialle that after listening to testimony, he believed the workers, and ordered the business owner to pay $1,940 to Benito Guendulain and $970 to Salomon Zavaleta for work they did last month.

Curialle argued that he needed more time to bring in witnesses because he had not been served with the paperwork for the case involving the two workers, but just happened to be in the small claims courtroom on another, unrelated case.

Sullivan told Curialle if he has newly discovered evidence, he will be allowed to apply for the judgment to be set aside.

After the workers' case concluded, Sullivan ordered Curialle to pay $2,873.45 to Triple C Nurseries in Marlboro. Robert Radice, a salesman for that company, said Curialle bought products from their company and paid with a check, then stopped payment on it.

That case was the reason Curialle was originally in court. But the case involving Guendulain, 37, and his nephew, Zavaleta, 19, had also been scheduled for Thursday. Both men, who worked in corn and bean fields in their native Mexico, arrived in the United States about 10 months ago and live in Freehold.

During the morning roll call of small claims cases, Sullivan told the workers that Curialle had not yet been served with the paperwork for their case, but then they recognized him in the courtroom.

The workers were accompanied by Rita Dentino, a coordinator at Casa Freehold, a local nonprofit, and she told the judge Curialle was in the courtroom.

The judge sent both cases to mediation, but an agreement could not be reached, and around 3 p.m., all of the parties wound up before Sullivan. The judge heard the workers' case first.

Curialle asked for an adjournment, saying he wanted to bring in witnesses to testify about the length of time the men worked.

The judge asked him why he couldn't get his witnesses to the courthouse even though his company is in Freehold and he had known since 9 a.m. that the case would be proceeding.

He told the judge he was "more worried" about the other case.

Through a Spanish-language interpreter, Zavaleta told the judge he worked from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m. for six days, a total of 78 hours. He said he told Curialle he did not have papers that would allow him to work in this country, but said Curialle told him he would pay cash, and suggested he try to get papers the following week so he could be paid by check.

After a week, he was not paid, he told the judge.

Through the same translator, Guendulain said he worked for two weeks, 78 hours each week, but was not paid.

Curialle told the judge one of his workers picked up the men, and they did not work for more than four days. He said he paid one $50 and another $200, and when their paperwork came back as fake, he told them they couldn't work anymore.

Monday, July 31, 2006

78 hours each week, but was not paid

78 hours a week? is that a typo? that's quite the overtime he put in (supposidly)

I've had to wait for a good month or so before I've gotten paid before. My daughter is still waiting for 40 hr's of collective overtime the Y isn't paying up on yet. They don't want to pay the overtime pay so they conviently make mistakes that they say will be fixed.......waiting for her to work below 40 hrs. a week and then they toss an hour of that overtime in there, but at regular pay, not overtime pay. There's no free legal help for her and the other girls to get their correct pay. She knows if she presses too hard on the subject she'll be fired. Life ain't always fair.

These people have learned every trick in the book to "use" our system...first I don't think anyone who is not a citizen should be hired, but none should be able to sue either.

Remember that ranch, that was given to illegals? Burns me up!

Between our do nothing government, and these stupid judges we have, we're sunk!

Just once I would like to see this happy ending:

"After being processed and fingerprinted, the illegals were promptly deported, with their owed wages going towards the paperwork and transportation cost to return them. In addition to being fined an amount equaling 1/3 of his net worth, the business owner who hired these illegals, Michael Curialle, was stripped of his business license and will not be eligible to re-apply for a minimum of 15 years."

The End.