New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development v. Allied Telecom Corp.

CourtNew Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division
DecidedNovember 25, 2025
DocketA-0029-24
StatusUnpublished

This text of New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development v. Allied Telecom Corp. (New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development v. Allied Telecom Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development v. Allied Telecom Corp., (N.J. Ct. App. 2025).

Opinion

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court ." Although it is posted on the internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited . R. 1:36-3.

SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY APPELLATE DIVISION DOCKET NO. A-0029-24

NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT,

Petitioner-Respondent,

v.

ALLIED TELECOM CORP., VASILIOS STERGIOU, DIRECTOR AND INDIVIDUALLY, AND DEMETRIO POUBOURIDIS, PRESIDENT AND INDIVIDUALLY,

Respondents-Appellants. _____________________________

Argued November 12, 2025 – Decided November 25, 2025

Before Judges Gilson and Vinci.

On appeal from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

Richard A. Grodeck argued the cause for appellants (Piro, Zinna, Cifelli, Paris & Genitempo, LLC, attorneys; Richard A. Grodeck, on the briefs). Christopher Chiacchio, Deputy Attorney General, argued the cause for respondent (Matthew J. Platkin, Attorney General, attorney; Sookie Bae-Park, Assistant Attorney General, of counsel; Christopher Chiacchio, on the brief).

PER CURIAM

Respondents Allied Telecom Corp., Vasilios Stergiou, and Demetrio

Poubouridis (collectively Allied) appeal from an August 29, 2024 final

administrative action of the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce

Development (Department) finding Allied violated the New Jersey Prevailing

Wage Act (PWA), N.J.S.A. 34:11-56.25 to -56.98, and the New Jersey Wage

Payment Law (WPL), N.J.S.A. 34:11-4.1 to -4.14. We affirm.

Allied is in the business of installing and maintaining wireless

communication networks. Stergiou is a shareholder and the director of

operations of Allied. Poubouridis is a shareholder and the chief financial officer.

In 2019, Allied performed work on cell towers in connection with ten

public works projects in Morris, Passaic, Bergen, Essex, and Ocean Counties

(the Projects). In June and July 2019, three employees, including former Allied

employee Rafael Rios, filed complaints with the Department alleging Allied

failed to pay them the correct prevailing wage rate for their work on the Projects.

A-0029-24 2 Specifically, they claimed Allied improperly paid them the prevailing wage rate

applicable to "electrician – teledata" instead of "electrician."

The Department publishes prevailing wage rate determinations on its

website for certain crafts performed in each county, which apply to contractors,

such as Allied, performing public works projects. On May 10, 2019, the

Department published prevailing wage rate determinations applicable to Morris

County, which included the crafts of "[e]lectrician" and "[e]lectrician –

[t]eledata."

The "comments/notes" section of the wage rate determination applicable

to "[e]lectrician" states:

THESE RATES ALSO APPLY TO THE FOLLOWING: -All burglar and fire alarm work. -All fiber optic work. -Teledata work in new construction. -Teledata work involving [sixteen] [v]oice/[d]ata [l]ines or more.

[(emphasis added).]

The "comments/notes" section of the wage rate determination applicable

to "[e]lectrician-[t]eledata" states:

- These rates are for service, maintenance, moves, and/or changes affecting [fifteen] [v]oice/[d]ata (teledata) lines or less. These rates may NOT be used

A-0029-24 3 for any teledata work in new construction (including additions) or any fiber optic work.

Allied concedes the wage rate determinations applicable to work

performed in Morris, Passaic, Essex, Bergen, and Ocean Couties are

substantially the same. There is also no dispute the Projects involved less than

fifteen "[v]oice/[d]ata lines" and were not "new construction."

The Department conducted an investigation of the employee complaints,

including an audit of Allied's payroll records. In connection with the

investigation, Allied provided a spreadsheet detailing the job duties of the

employees who worked on the Projects. The descriptions of the job duties in

the spreadsheet included: "[t]est fiber connectivity" and "furnish and install

telco wire." The spreadsheet stated, "[t]elco wire: [n]ew technology is fiber/

[o]lder was [twenty-five] pair."

Allied also provided a letter dated October 28, 2019, describing the scope

of the work done on the Projects, which included "[s]wapping . . . [r]emote

[r]adio head[s]" and involved "run[ning] a new fiber optic jumper from a[n] . . .

outdoor box or squid to the new [r]emote [r]adio [h]ead." The letter stated

"[n]ever more than [nine] [remote radio heads] are swapped. So [nine ]

additional at most fibers would be added."

A-0029-24 4 On October 2, 2020, the Department issued assessment letters to Allied

for the Projects. The Department determined Allied violated the PWA and the

WPL, and assessed unpaid wages, fees, and penalties pursuant to N.J.S.A.

34:11-4.2 and N.J.S.A. 34:11-56.27.1 Allied contested the assessments.

On February 23, 2021, the Department issued final orders in connection

with the Projects compelling Allied to pay the assessments, which totaled

approximately $107,542 in unpaid wages, $10,754 in fees, and $40,600 in

penalties. The Department also debarred Allied from any public works contracts

for a period of three years. Allied appealed and requested a hearing in the Office

of Administrative Law.

On April 27, and 28, 2023, an administrative law judge (ALJ) conducted

an evidentiary hearing. The Department called the following witnesses: Wayne

DeAngelo, an electrician and member of the International Brotherhood of

Electrical Workers (IBEW); Ashleigh Chamberlain, the Department employee

who served as hearing officer during the investigation; and Rios. Stergiou

testified as Allied's only witness.

1 The Department also determined Allied failed to register in violation of N.J.S.A. 34:11-56.51. The determination is not the subject of this appeal. A-0029-24 5 DeAngelo testified he has been a member of the IBEW, Local Union 260,

which has "construction jurisdiction" in Mercer County, Burlington County, and

parts of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, for twenty-three years. He is the president

and assistant business manager of the local union, and a full-time union

representative. Throughout his career as an electrician D'Angelo "specialized

in the work of voice and data systems, fiber optics."

DeAngelo testified that when the Department "has a question as to scope

of work and whose craft it would fall under" a Department employee "usually

sends . . . the question on this type of work and then asks [him] what parameters

or what craft that would potentially fall under." This happens "[o]n a monthly

basis."

In this case, Department employee Ralph Sheffield provided D'Angelo

with the spreadsheet created by Allied and asked him about Allied's "scope of

work with power work for [antennas] and . . . if that falls under the parameter

of [the IBEW's] collective bargaining agreement" for electricians. D'Angelo

advised Sheffield that Allied's work on the Projects would fall within his local

union's collective bargaining agreement and each of Allied's employees "would

be paid as an inside wireman." The Projects did not fall within the jurisdiction

of DeAngelo's local union, but "the majority of the collective bargaining

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