State Tax Interest Group Meeting and Technical Session - Investigative and Enforcement Practices and Targeted Industries (E1805868)

Neil Becourtney, CPA, is a partner at CohnReznick. With expertise in representing clients facing tax examinations by the Internal Revenue Service, as well as state taxing authorities, he heads up the firm’s Tax Controversies Group. A regularly writer on tax subjects, Mr. Becourtney regularly monitors federal and state tax developments and frequently presents tax seminars. An active member of the New Jersey Society of CPAs (NJSCPA) for many years, Mr. Becourtney is a past chairperson of the NJSCPA New Jersey Taxation committee and is currently a member of its Editorial Advisory Board. Mr. Becourtney graduated from SUNY Albany in 1982 with a bachelor’s of science in accounting and earned a master’s of science degree in taxation from Pace University in 1986.

Evelyn Ku is a Senior Investigator with the NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Division of Wage and Hour Compliance. In addition to enforcing Wage and Hour laws in the field as well as training new investigators, she is one of the instructors for a course on Wage and Hour and Child Labor laws offered as part of the Student Learning Experience (SLE) certification. She has also presented at the Interstate Labor Standards Association conferences since 2014.

Gertrudis (Marisol) Sanchez has been with the Department of Labor for 19 years working in different divisions within the department. She has been with the Division of Wage & Hour Compliance for the past 6 years, first as an Investigator then as a Senior Investigator. Prior to that position, she spent 8 years at Benefit Payment Control as a Fraud Investigator, and 2 years with Employment Services as a Bilingual Interviewer. She began her career with the state in 1998 as an Intermittent Labor Service Worker (ILSW) Claims Examiner. In 2011 BPC Field offices were consolidated and moved to Trenton and she chose not to make the move. Instead she returned briefly to Unemployment as a Claims examiner, before joining Wage & Hour where she is today

John Warner, Director of Wage Hour Division, began his Wage Hour career as an Investigator in the Southern New Jersey District Office in 1977 after graduation from Rutgers University in New Brunswick. He spent over 28 years in the field and received a number of awards, including Distinguished Career Service and the DOL Public Service Recognition Award. He was promoted to Assistant District Director in Northern New Jersey in March, 2006, and became District Director in February, 2014, where he supervises a staff of 20. The Northern NJ DO has recovered almost $25 million in back wages for approximately 12,000 workers during his time as District Director, John is probably most familiar to fellow Wage Hour staff for his long time role in Investigator training. He has taught six Basic 1 classes, H1B enforcement for managers, Agricultural Enforcement in three Basic 2 classes, and served as Facilitator for both Basic 1 and 2 classes. He has given presentations on Wage Hour enforcement at both Seton Hall and Rutgers-Newark Law Schools.