A South Jersey drywall contractor will pay $725,000 after federal investigators found its crews weren't paid for time spent waiting on transportation to jobsites before their shifts started (via U.S. Department of Labor).
The company, P & B Partitions Inc., agreed to a consent judgment and final order in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. The court entered it on June 26, 2026, and the Labor Department announced it on Oct. 22.
The money breaks down three ways: $350,000 in back wages for 48 workers, an equal $350,000 in liquidated damages, and $25,000 in civil money penalties. So the bill is roughly double what the workers were owed in the first place, plus penalties.
P & B lists its address on Cooper Road in West Berlin, in Camden County. According to its website, the company was founded in 1982 and handles metal stud framing, drywall installation, taping and finishing, insulation, rough carpentry, acoustical ceilings, and doors, frames and hardware.
The department's Wage and Hour Division found that P & B didn't pay employees for pre-shift time they spent waiting for transportation to their jobsites. The agency treated that as a violation of the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Under the FLSA, nonexempt workers must be paid time and a half for hours past 40 in a workweek, so unpaid time tacked onto a full week of work shows up as unpaid overtime.
The release's subhead also says the company refused to pay the wages after the investigation, which is how the matter ended up in federal court.
"Tasks completed to prepare for the job, and in this case, while waiting to get to the worksite, is work that must be compensated," said Charlene Rachor, the Wage and Hour Division's district director in Southern New Jersey.
Jeffrey S. Rogoff, the Regional Solicitor of Labor in New York, said the case shows "employers can face costly consequences if they do not comply with federal wage law."
The release doesn't spell out the day-to-day setup, such as where the crews gathered or how they got to the sites. But the Labor Department's own guidance lays out the general rules any contractor is working under.
The workday runs from the first "principal activity" of the day to the last, and it can be longer than the scheduled shift, according to the department's Fact Sheet #22 on hours worked. Waiting time turns on whether the worker is "engaged to wait," which is paid, or "waiting to be engaged," which generally isn't.
Travel follows a similar split. A normal commute from home to the job isn't work time. Driving from one jobsite to another during the day is.
The federal rule on travel that's part of the day's work, 29 CFR 785.38, goes a step further. If an employer requires workers to report to a set meeting place to get instructions, do other work there, or pick up and carry tools, the trip from that spot to the jobsite counts as hours worked. The rule says that applies regardless of contract, custom or practice.
Why it matters for Contractors
Plenty of shops start the day the same way: crews meet at the shop or yard, load the truck, get the day's assignments and ride out together. That's an efficient way to run a job. It's also exactly the kind of morning that can start the clock earlier than the time sheet says.
For a small outfit, a few questions are worth asking now. Is showing up at the yard required, or just available? Do people get instructions, load material or carry tools before they leave? Is anybody standing around waiting on a ride you arranged? If the answers point to work, the time from that point on likely counts, and once a worker's week tops 40 hours, those minutes get paid at the overtime rate.
The cheapest fix is usually on paper. Start the clock when people are required to report, or make the meetup truly optional and let crews go straight to the site. Time-tracking apps that log when people clock in at the yard can help, and the department offers a free WorkWise Timesheet app for workers to track hours and pay.
If you think you've got a problem already, the Labor Department runs a PAID program that lets employers self-report and resolve possible minimum wage and overtime violations. Its Wage and Hour helpline is 866-487-9243. For anything that isn't clear-cut, a short call with an employment attorney costs a lot less than double back pay.