Division of Consumer Affairs reaches settlements with 22 employment, personnel service firms allegedly operating as unregistered businesses in NJ
NEW JERSEY – Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division of Consumer Affairs Thursday announced settlements with 22 employment/personnel service firms operating as unregistered businesses in the state.
The firms – whose services run the gamut from executive-level employment placements to hourly labor assignments – agreed to the settlements to resolve the Division’s investigation into whether their failure to register with the Division’s Regulated Business Section, as required by law, violated New Jersey’s consumer protection laws and regulations.
Under the settlement terms contained in 22 Consent Orders filed by the Division, the firms were assessed a total of $62,000 in civil penalties ranging from $2,000 to $8,000 each.
“Firms doing business in New Jersey must comply with the laws in place to protect the public and ensure compliance with industry standards, and that begins with being properly registered,” Platkin said. “The fines announced today send a clear message that skirting the registration process and unlawfully operating outside of the Division’s regulation and oversight will not be tolerated.”
“Ensuring that employment and staffing services firms are properly registered is essential to the Division’s efforts to enforce the laws that provide critical protections to workers,” said Cari Fais, Acting Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs. “We will continue to investigate and take action against unregistered firms to bring them into compliance.”
Of the 22 firms, two were operating as Temporary Help Service Firms, which provide temporary personnel on their payroll to employer clients for temporary work assignments. The remaining 20 were operating as Consulting/Temporary Help Service Firms, which act as Temporary Help Service Firms and also as Consulting Firms/Headhunters, which procure interviews for job seekers with prospective employers and for prospective employers with job seekers.
The following firms entered into Consent Orders with the Division to resolve alleged violations of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, the Private Employment Agency Act, the Regulations Governing Personnel Services, the Regulations Governing Consulting Firms, and/or the Regulations Governing Temporary Help Service Firms:
| Name | Primary Location(s) | County |
| Alliance Sourcing Network | Wayne | Passaic |
| ATRIA Consulting | Hamilton (Mercer County) | Mercer |
| Coda Staffing | Paramus | Bergen |
| Expert Hiring | Bridgewater | Somerset |
| Freedom Specialty Services | Westville | Gloucester |
| Haley Stuart Group | Montvale | Bergen |
| Horizon America | Vineland, Willingboro, Iselin | Cumberland, Willingboro, Middlesex |
| Hudson IT Consultancy | Hoboken | Hudson |
| HW Staffing | Taunton, MA | N/A |
| Monroe Staffing Services, LLC | Shelton, Connecticut | N/A |
| NICSAM Personnel | Clifton | Passaic |
| Northeast Talent Solutions | Passaic, West New York | Passaic, Hudson |
| Professional Search Network | Parsippany | Morris |
| Renner Brown | Edison | Middlesex |
| Sharplink Staffing LLC | Audubon, Vineland | Camden, Cumberland |
| Specialty Staffing | Mahwah | Bergen |
| Staff Right Solutions | Paterson, Bound Brook | Passaic, Somerset |
| Stonehenge Resources, LLC | Bedminster | Somerset |
| Swipejobs | Plainfield, Somerset | Union, Somerset |
| Uniforce Staffing Solutions | Paramus | Bergen |
| Warehouse Labor | Plainfield | Union |
| Workflex/ MVP Staffing | Deerfield, IL; Elizabeth, Trenton, and Vineland, NJ | Union, Mercer, Cumberland |
* Click firm name to view Consent Order
In addition to accepting the civil penalties, the firms also agreed to stop engaging in any unfair or deceptive acts or practices, comply with all applicable state and federal laws, register their businesses within 30 days of the settlement, and maintain annual registration, as required by law.
