New Jersey State AFL-CIO Applauds the New Jersey Department of Labor Enforcement of Independent Contractor Misclassification by Fining
Micro-Transit Operator Via Transportation over $1.5 Million

The NJ Department of Labor (DOL) recently audited the state’s largest operator of micro-transit programs in the state, River North Transit, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Via Transportation. The DOL found they have violated the rules regarding the misclassification of workers as independent contractors and failed to pay into worker protection funds such as unemployment insurance and temporary disability benefits. The investigation began almost a year ago and has resulted in a $1,579,881 fine against Via covering 2021-2024. Click here to view the assessment letter.

Via has the right to appeal the ruling and they have not made any admission of guilt. For this reason, unfortunately, they can continue to exploit their workers by classifying them as independent contractors rather than as employees, which strips away a host of worker protections, including overtime, workers compensation, employer sponsored health insurance and pension enrollment, temporary disability, paid family leave, earned sick days and even the minimum wage. Furthermore, companies that cheat their workers rob the state of over $500 million in payroll taxes a year and place companies that play by the rules at a competitive disadvantage in the bidding process. The Murphy administration had several high-profile misclassification cases against similar app-based transportation companies, such as Uber, Lyft and Amazon.

Legislation (S-2931 / A-3315) is pending that would reform the micro-transit industry and require all companies bidding on these contracts to define their workers as employees. The New Jersey State AFL-CIO urges legislative leadership to advance this bill now, which would require Via and other contractors to treat their workers fairly. If this bill is passed, the NJ DOL would no longer have to spend precious taxpayer resources for future investigations of the same companies and would ensure they are paying all the required payroll taxes, helping the state address its budgetary needs.

Local government contracts with Via have had mixed results and some officials are finding out their transportation model is financially unsustainable moving forward. Jersey City recently announced that they are considering terminating Via’s expensive microtransit contract and replacing it with more cost-effective bus service.

The New Jersey State AFL-CIO applauds the state Department of Labor for taking a stand against misclassification in the micro-transit industry and we urge the New Jersey Legislature to follow their example and pass S-2931 / A-3315.