Four Bergen County manicurists are suing their former employer, a North Jersey-based nail salon chain, for alleged labor violations.

The manicurists allege that the salons for which they worked failed to pay minimum wage and overtime and allowed little or no breaks during shifts that were as long as 10 hours. The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Newark, says that over a period of eight years the workers were denied "tens of thousands of dollars in wages to which they were lawfully entitled."

The manicurists worked for salons that were part of Ji Ji Nails Inc., described in the lawsuit as a corporation based in Morris Plains that operates nail salons in various North Jersey locations. The plaintiffs' allegations involve salons in Glen Rock, Edgewater, Morris Plains and Berkeley Heights.

The suit names as defendants Ji Ji Nails Inc., which also goes by Color 4 U Nails, as well as its president and owner, Myung Sook Mun, and her husband, Mi Yong Mun, who is identified as a co-owner.

"The employers put them through a hostile work environment and paid them slave wages," said Alex Saingchin, staff attorney for the New Jersey-Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, which filed the suit on behalf of the workers.

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