New Jersey labor investigators issued stop-work orders against two Texas-based roofing contractors working at an ACME Markets grocery store in Audubon, N.J., according to a November 2 announcement from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL).

The orders, dated October 21, 2026, name Joli Roofing Specialists LLC of Keller, Texas, and Jose A. Roman of Irving, Texas, as subcontractors on a roof installation at the ACME Markets located at 100 Black Horse Pike in Audubon. Both were hired onto the job by primary contractor Gorman Roofing Services of Phoenix, Arizona, per the NJDOL release.

NJDOL's Division of Wage and Hour Compliance cited the two subcontractors for improper classification and misclassification of construction workers, failure to pay overtime, unpaid or late wages, and violations tied to the state's earned sick leave recordkeeping and posting requirements. NJDOL said 10 workers were affected.

This is New Jersey state enforcement, not a New York City DOB action — the order was issued under NJDOL's authority to halt work it finds exploits workers or otherwise violates state labor law, not under any NYC Department of Buildings process.

"Regardless of where a company is headquartered, they must comply with our state's labor standards when doing business here," said Assistant Commissioner for Wage and Hour Compliance Joseph Petrecca, in the NJDOL announcement. "We will not tolerate contractors who come to New Jersey and exploit our workers."

NJDOL said it has issued 237 stop-work orders total since the state expanded these enforcement powers in July 2019. The release did not say whether Joli Roofing, Jose A. Roman, or Gorman Roofing Services have appealed or responded to the order; none could be reached for comment through the information in NJDOL's release.

An employer may appeal a stop-work order under NJDOL's process; the agency's release did not indicate the status of any appeal in this case.

What to do next

If you're a New York-based roofing or GC outfit that takes work across the Hudson, worker classification is the line NJDOL is actively enforcing on out-of-state crews — not just NYC's own prevailing-wage and LL196 rules. Misclassifying a sub as exempt from overtime, or failing to post required sick-leave notices, is enough to shut a crew down mid-job in New Jersey the same way it can trigger a DOB stop-work order here.

Before sending a crew over state lines, confirm every worker's classification and your sick-leave postings are current under New Jersey rules specifically — they are not identical to New York's. NJDOL's stop-work order list and appeal process are posted at nj.gov/labor; a contractor bidding New Jersey retail or commercial roofing work should check it before mobilizing a crew, not after one shows up to inspect the site.