Boston Market accused of stealing $600K in wages across N.J.

Boston Market stores across New Jersey stole $607,000 from 314 employees throughout the state, investigators said Tuesday.

The casual eatery must now stop work at 27 restaurants in the Garden State and pay millions of dollars in damages, according to the New Jersey Department of Labor.

“With restaurants across the country, Boston Market needs to set a better example for fair treatment of its workers,” assistant labor commissioner Joseph Petrecca said in a press release. “[The Department of Labor] has the tools to carry out large-scale enforcement efforts within the state so we can work with employers to stop worker exploitation.”

The department received its first complaint in November 2022 from a Boston Market worker in Hamilton, according to Tuesday’s announcement. That complaint kicked off a lengthy investigation.

More than 30 additional complaints flooded the department afterwards. Investigators found a lengthy list of violations: 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.

[ NYC pizzerias forced to pay out hundreds of thousands in settlements for wage theft claims ]

All Boston Market stores are centrally owned by the Rohan Group, which acquired the company in 2020. The group is owned by Jay Pandya, a Pennsylvania-based businessman.

The 314 workers were owed a total of $607,471 in back wages, according to the New Jersey Department of Labor. Boston Market was also ordered to pay $1,214,942 in liquidated damages, an administrative fee of $182,241.30 and an administrative penalty of $549,500. In total, the company owes $2,554,154.30.

[ Workers in NYS are owed up to $1 billion in stolen wages: experts ]

While stores throughout New Jersey were ordered Monday to stop work, a significant majority of the delinquent stores were located in the New York metro area, according to the Department of Labor. A few restaurants near Trenton and Philadelphia were also told to shut down.

Any store that operates in violation of such an order can be fined up to $5,000 per day.

“The stop-work order may be lifted if and when any remaining back wages and penalties have been paid and all related issues have been resolved,” the department said.