In a case some foresee will impact future wage disputes, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled unanimously that an employer that failed to meet standards of the safe harbor defense and exemption as a “trucking industry employer” under the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law must pay appropriate overtime wages to its workers.

But in a nod to the employer’s dilemma and the statute’s complexity, the justices also suggested that better guidelines were needed from the state Labor & Workforce Department in handling such matters.