SPARTA -- A temporary employment agency that was fined $10,500 four months ago to settle claims of improper business practices appears to be in continued violation of a consent order it signed with the state Division of Consumer Affairs.
Strategic Staffing Solutions, a temporary staffing firm based in Sparta, agreed to the fine and consent order with the state in June after coming under investigation earlier in the year.
The probe, which involved several temporary staffing firms throughout the state, centered on alleged breaches of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act and the Private Employment Agency Act that included doing business under unregistered names and using unregistered locations to recruit applicants in violation of state regulations governing temporary help agencies.
In agreeing to the consent order, the state Division of Consumer Affairs indicated that Strategic Staffing Solutions violated both of the above acts by having "held itself out as 'StrategyStaff, Inc.' without properly registering its name and any proper trade name with the Division."
As part of the consent order, the firm had agreed to cease doing business under the name "StrategyStaff" or any other alternate names and to "remove all references to 'StrategyStaff, Inc.' on its website" within seven days of the order taking effect.
As of Friday, however, the firm still was referring to itself as "StrategyStaff" on its website.
Lisa Coryell, a spokeswoman for the Division of Consumer Affairs, said in a written statement that "any reference to 'StrategyStaff, Inc.' on Strategic Staffing Solutions' website is a violation of the terms of the June consent order. The Division will take all necessary and appropriate action to ensure that Strategic Staffing Solutions complies with the consent order."
John Clifford, president of Strategic Staffing Solutions, did not respond to messages left for him Wednesday by phone and email.
A person who answered the phone at the firm's listed number on Thursday indicated he would forward the message to Clifford. As of Friday, Clifford still had not responded.
An additional stipulation of the consent order was that the firm was not to use any office other than its primary location in Sparta for recruiting applicants without first notifying the state.
At the time of the investigation, the firm's Sparta headquarters was licensed with the state, but its other offices had not been properly registered.
The firm, according to its website, has an additional office on Route 15 in Jefferson as well as offices in Clifton, New Brunswick, Bound Brook and Union City. It is unclear if those offices have since been registered.
The order stipulated that any future breaches could result in the firm facing additional fines.
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