New Company Announcement: Career Labor Expert Lenny Katz and Former Labor Commissioner AJ Sabath Join Forces

TRENTON, N.J.-(Business Wire)-September 29, 2009 - A new government relations and business development consulting firm has been created in New Jersey to promote and support labor compliance on Public Works and private sector construction projects, as well all other wage and hour and health and safety workplace compliance issues.

With decades of Public Works labor compliance and wage and hour experience in the industry, Lenny Katz, the former Deputy Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner of Labor Standards, and AJ Sabath, the former Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (LWD) recently announced the creation of Katz and Sabath Partners, LLC.

“Now that my 40 year career in government has come to a close, I look forward to this new venture that will enable me to continue to provide the same level of guidance and direction on wage and hour compliance and workplace safety,” said Katz. “Our goal is to provide a roadmap to help navigate through the complex labyrinth of State Government.”

“I am very excited about this new opportunity. New Jersey labor laws and regulations can be quite confusing and one small error can cost a lot of money,” said Sabath. “We want to provide a greater understanding of what the rules are to prevent costly mistakes.”

Katz and Sabath said the new firm will provide business development and general regulatory consulting services in addition to payroll wage auditing and project management review services to enhance labor law compliance on public and private construction projects.

According to Katz and Sabath, the new firm will deliver time sensitive results utilizing a network of qualified partner consultants in the fields of law, accounting and construction to generate labor compliance success. Katz and Sabath also will assist businesses in preparing and filing grant requests and applications for Customized Training at LWD including Literacy/Basic Skills Grants, New Green Job Training Partnership Programs, Occupational Safety & Health Training, and Weatherization Training Programs.

Lenny Katz served as Deputy Commissioner of LWD where he was known to possess a depth of experience and broad understanding of New Jersey’s complex labor issues that was developed over a 40-year career in State government.

Before serving as Deputy Commissioner, Katz served as Assistant Commissioner for Labor Standards and Safety Enforcement since 1992. Prior to serving as Assistant Commissioner, Katz was the Director of Workplace Standards, Chief of the Public Contracts Section, and a Field Representative for the Office of Wage and Hour Compliance.

At LWD, Katz was closely involved with issues such as prevailing wage and minimum wage enforcement, public works contractor registration, overtime, late and improper wage claims, as well as a variety of workplace health and safety enforcement issues including boiler and pressure vessel and explosives regulation.

For the past 18 years, AJ Sabath has played a significant role in the political landscape of New Jersey by serving in many high profile and influential posts in State government. AJ Sabath served as the Chief of Staff to Senate President Richard J. Codey. In 2005, he was appointed Commissioner of LWD.

Prior to joining the Department, he served in a number of key positions in the State Senate and Assembly. In the State Senate, he was a senior policy and political advisor to the Senate President and served as the Senate Labor Committee Aid. In the General Assembly he was the Director of Constituent Relations, a Communications Specialist, and served as the Assembly Housing Committee Aide.

Government service is only part of A.J.’s professional experience. A.J. served as Public Affairs Director for the MWW Group, where he represented the World Sikh Council, the Constitutional Monarchy Movement of Iraq, and the Puerto Rico Statehood Movement. AJ spent two years in Baku, Azerbaijan, working for the National Democratic Institute where he promoted relations among political, civic, and government officials and created the country’s first domestic election monitoring organization.

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