A New Zealand company director has been held personally liable for wage theft after migrant workers were systematically underpaid and locked inside a factory overnight, in a ruling that reinforces how corporate structures offer little protection when employment laws are breached.
In a decision issued on January 21, 2026, New Zealand’s Employment Relations Authority found Yang Yang, sole director of Miaodi’s Laundromat trading as Mr Suds, jointly and severally liable alongside his company for exploiting four Chinese migrant workers.
The Authority heard that the workers (Yu Chunyan, Sun Tingting, Liu Danhua and Zhang Shijie) were recruited on special work visas for factory roles and arrived in New Zealand between February and September 2023. Each was contracted to work between 30 and 32 hours a week but regularly worked 60 to 70 hours, receiving pay for only half that time.
Yang argued that workers were informed during interviews that unpaid wages would be settled later in the year when business cash flow improved.
However, Authority member Eleanor Robinson found no written agreement to support this claim and ruled that the arrangement resulted in the workers being paid below the legal minimum wage.
What made the case particularly striking was that Miaodi’s held government accreditation to employ overseas workers, yet the Authority found evidence of sustained exploitation. The workers lived at the factory premises, paid rent, and testified that the building was locked at night, preventing them from leaving.
Several workers also told the Authority they had paid substantial recruitment fees, including up to 70,000 RMB (around 14,500 NZD) to Chinese agencies. One worker said she paid an additional 10,800 NZD to a New Zealand-based agent and further sums to the company through an intermediary.
In December 2023, the workers reported their situation to the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment. By mid-January 2024, they were granted Migrant Exploitation Protection Visas, allowing them to work freely while investigations were underway.
The employment relationship deteriorated soon after. The workers said wages stopped entirely for January and February 2024, and their shifts were broken into short 90-minute blocks, which they believed was retaliation for speaking out. On February 19, the company’s HR manager suspended all four workers, citing “special circumstances.”
Yang claimed the suspension followed the discovery that the workers were on different visas than originally issued. The workers admitted they had not disclosed the changes, saying they were afraid of losing their jobs.
Robinson ruled the workers had been unjustifiably dismissed, finding that the suspension amounted to a “sending away” initiated by the employer.
The Authority ordered Miaodi’s and Yang personally to pay each worker between 6,705 and 7,873 NZD in wage arrears, approximately 11,600 NZD each in lost wages, and 18,000 NZD each in compensation. The compensation was reduced by 10 percent due to the workers’ failure to disclose their visa changes. A further 10,000 NZD penalty was imposed.