Jersey City Cleaners Return To Work After Receiving Back Wages

JERSEY CITY, NJ— A group of Jersey City cleaners are back to work after over a year of unemployment — the workers just received back wages following an investigation into their underpayment by Planned Companies, a contractor hired by the luxury Jersey City building they worked in.

The cleaners returned to their jobs on Thursday, at the Beacon, a six-building luxury Jersey City rental complex.

Three of the Beacon's six rental buildings at the 1,155-unit complex overlooking Manhattan skyline receive 15-year tax abatements pursuant to financial agreements with the city. As a condition of the abatements, cleaning vendors on large projects were required to pay building cleaners at least $13.97 an hour in wages and benefits.

Planned Companies was the vendor hired by Beacon Redevelopment LLC. Planned Companies was accused of underpaying workers and leaving them without a job when the Beacon changed contractors. The Beacon LLC agreed to pay the workers back wages, as well as to hire a vendor who would reinstate them to their positions.