The NJ medical transportation company has underpaid dozens of employees, officials say

A Camden County company has been accused of misclassifying at least 52 employees and failing to pay them the correct wages, state attorney general officials announced Wednesday.

TransCare, LLC, a medical transportation company based in Berlin, is accused of misclassifying drivers as independent contractors rather than employees, officials said.

An investigation began after authorities received complaints from drivers who alleged TransCare had not paid them their full wages, authorities said.

The investigation by the New Jersey Department of Labor found that these drivers, as well as others, were company employees and did not operate independent businesses, authorities said.

TransCare is accused of exercising significant control over drivers, including determining where, when and how drivers were assigned assignments and setting work hours and pay rates, officials said.

Drivers also had to undergo training, some of it unpaid, and required drivers to use a third-party mobile application to receive instructions and commands, officials said.

Drivers were required to pick up commercial vehicles at a parking lot where they left their personal cars, the same place where officials said they were expected to drop off their timesheets and collect their paychecks.

The civil suit also accuses the company of failing to pay the minimum wage and overtime, failing to maintain records, pay employees timely and make required contributions to various state funds, including the Unemployment Compensation Fund, officials said.

The prosecution asked the court for an order to end TransCare’s misclassification of workers and declare that the drivers were and are employees of the company, authorities said.

A message left with the company Wednesday seeking comment was not immediately returned.