Senior U.S. District Court Judge Stanley R. Chesler has denied a motion to dismiss terminated employees’ claims that a solar energy company had violated New Jersey’s Wage Payment Law (Jones v. HESP Solar, No. 20-13056 (SRC) (D.N.J. slip op. May 12, 2021). The district court rejected the employers’ argument that commission-based payments were not “wages” which were entitled to the WPL’s protection.
However, the plaintiff’s were terminated before enactment of New Jersey’s Wage Theft Act in 2019. The district court held that they were not entitled to the added protections of the WTA because there was no evidence before it that the New Jersey Legislature had intended for the law to be applied retroactively.
Judge Chesler’s thoroughly reasoned decision is meaningful for employers and employees whose pay is commission-based, whether in the solar industry or in other industries.