Consumer Affairs Settles with 22 Unregistered Employment Service Firms

PARSIPPANY — Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division of Consumer Affairs announced settlements with 22 employment/personnel service firms operating as unregistered businesses in the state.

The firms – whose services run the gamut from executive-level employment placements to hourly labor assignments – agreed to the settlements to resolve the Division’s investigation into whether their failure to register with the Division’s Regulated Business Section, as required by law, violated New Jersey’s consumer protection laws and regulations.

Under the settlement terms contained in 22 Consent Orders filed by the Division, the firms have assessed a total of $62,000 in civil penalties ranging from $2,000 to $8,000 each.

“Firms doing business in New Jersey must comply with the laws in place to protect the public and ensure compliance with industry standards, and that begins with being properly registered,” said Attorney General Platkin.

Professional Search Network, LLP, 900 Lanidex Plaza, Suite 245, a consulting firm providing temporary help services, was one of the 22 firms and was not registered with the Division of Consumer Affairs.

As part of the settlement, Professional Search Network, LLP, does not engage in any unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of its business in the State of New Jersey and must comply with all state and federal laws, rules, and regulations. They were also ordered to register with the Division of Consumer Affairs within thirty days.

The settlement amount consisted of a civil penalty of $2,000 as well as $1,500 as a “Settlement Payment.”

The mission of the Division of Consumer Affairs, within the Department of Law and Public Safety, is to protect the public from fraud, deceit, misrepresentation, and professional misconduct in the sale of goods and services in New Jersey through education, advocacy, regulation, and enforcement. The Division pursues its mission through its 51 professional and occupational boards that oversee approximately 750,000 licensees in the state, its Regulated Business section that oversees 60,000 NJ registered businesses, as well as through its Office of Consumer Protection, Bureau of Securities, Charities Registration Section, Office of Weights and Measures, and Legalized Games of Chance section.

Consumers who believe they have been cheated or scammed by a business, or suspect any other form of consumer abuse, can file an online complaint with the State Division of Consumer Affairs by visiting its website or by calling 1-800-242-5846 to receive a complaint form by mail.

A complete list of companies that reached settlements with the Division are: