NJDOL Investigation Finds Solar Company Owes $800K in Unpaid Wages to Workers 

TRENTON – A Camden County solar contractor was cited by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) for violations of the state’s prevailing wage laws, including the failure to pay the required wage on utility work that shortchanged 33 workers of nearly $800,000 in pay.  

The NJDOL’s investigation into now-defunct Code Green Solar LLC was initiated after receiving several complaints from the company’s employees stating they were not paid appropriately for working on a project located at a manufacturing business in Hillsborough. 

The investigation also uncovered violations for unpaid and late payment of wages, lack of certified payroll records, and obstruction/hindering of the investigation. The NJDOL’s Division of Wage and Hour Compliance issued an assessment against Code Green for the unpaid wages, plus penalties and fees.  The Division also issued a notice of debarment, which would disqualify Code Green from bidding on or engaging in public works for three years. Because Code Green did not request a hearing to contest the assessment or debarment, both are final. 

“New Jersey’s wage laws exist to protect workers’ rights,” said Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo. “Our investigators are committed to ensuring compliance with these laws, weeding out bad actors, leveling the playing field for businesses that play by the rules and getting our workers the wages they are entitled to. We look forward to delivering this money to the workers who earned it.” 

Code Green Solar LLC installed a solar field generating 1.2 megawatts of power and had applied for New Jersey Board of Public Utilities Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECS).  

In 2019, Code Green Solar LLC’s former president and chief executive officer Charles Kartsaklis, who previously resided in Erial (Gloucester Township), New Jersey, pleaded guilty to defrauding the U.S. government of millions of dollars in federally funded rebates by falsely claiming his company installed solar panels for five New Jersey businesses. 

For more information on New Jersey’s wage and hour laws, please visit myworkrights.nj.gov. 

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