The DOL Strategic Enforcement Initiative
Because the DOL Won't Teach You How to Comply.
They're targeting drywallers first — but that doesn't mean they're not coming for the other trades next. The fines are exorbitant. The legal fees are debilitating. And most contractors don't even know the rules have changed.
What Contractors Get Wrong
These are the mistakes I see every day — and any one of them can trigger exorbitant fines, production issues, potential stop-work orders, and debilitating legal fees.
Trusting Your Accountant Knows the Law
Most accountants and payroll processors are not wage and hour compliance experts. They handle your books — not your DOL exposure.
Pay Stubs Without Hourly Rates
Field labor is not exempt from overtime and therefore must be paid hourly. All pay stubs need to reflect the hourly rate properly. It's an expensive red flag for the DOL.
Missing Earned Sick Leave (ESL) Documentation
In 2017, New Jersey passed the Earned Sick Leave law. All hourly employees accrue ESL. As the employer, it's your responsibility to track it based off of hours worked. Simplest way? Right on the pay stub. Stay compliant.
No Workers' Compensation Insurance
New Jersey state law requires all employers to maintain compliant, active workers' compensation insurance. Failure to do so means big fines — and it's a crime.
Mismatched Entity Names
If the name on your SS4 doesn't match your Certificate of Formation, the DOL notices. Consistency across every document matters.
Thinking You're Too Small to Get Caught
DOL investigators conduct undercover surveillance before formal visits. Size doesn't protect you. Compliance does.
The Solution: BeDOLReady
An AI-powered compliance platform designed by a compliance expert. Built to facilitate transparent, easy document verification, communication, and compliance — across the entire contractor chain.
Liability doesn't stop with just you. Under NJ law, it flows upchain — from sub-tier to prime to general contractor to developer. No matter what tier you are, upchain liability means this is your problem too. BeDOLReady lets all contractors communicate, share documents, and verify compliance across every level of the chain — together.
Go to BeDOLReady.comHow This Came to Be
For 20+ years I've had a front-row seat as contractors get blindsided by what they don't know or haven't been told. The injury is financial, professional, and often personal to them.
I've watched as rules and regulations have changed and increased in both their scope and their severity, often without knowledge or warning.
I've sat across from hard-working contractors who ask me, "Why didn't my accountant tell me the right way to do this?" Or, "I thought I was doing the right thing."
I've worked with hundreds after the fact, unable to help before the state comes looking — because there are too many to my one.
I think it's time you have a tool that you can use in an easy app format. A tool that tells you exactly what I would tell you as a NJ contractor is your job to have, if you were sitting in front of me. A tool that will identify what you are missing and what is wrong — so that you can get it fixed before it costs you more.
What is the price of peace of mind worth at the end of a long day of hard work?
That's why I built BeDOLReady.
Wishing you peace and prosperity,
Maureen Poole aka "Compliance Gringa"
How Exposed Are You?
Take our free 2-minute self-audit to calculate your minimum penalty exposure under current NJ DOL enforcement.