Lakewood's downtown business district doesn't have a definitive line of demarcation. There's more of a subtle blending from the Spanish side to the Jewish side.

Along Clifton Avenue, the main drag, business names change. At Clifton and Second Street, are Oaxacan Supermarket and La Sierra Taqueria restaurant.

At Clifton and Fourth are Bagel Nosh and Gelbstein's Bakery.

The plaza in front of the municipal complex that faces Clifton is the midpoint, where two of the dominant ethnic populations of Lakewood cross paths.

In some ways, they are very much alike. Some of the newest Haredi and Hasidic Jews of Lakewood have come from across the United States and the world to live, worship and start businesses among people like themselves.

The Hispanic population, too, has come to live and work among people like themselves. But much of that work is in the homes and businesses of the Orthodox community.

There are tensions, not unlike any other place where one group holds economic power over another.

"There are abusive employers everywhere," said Louis Kimmel, executive director of New Labor, a New Brunswick-based advocacy group that organizes and defends immigrant workers. "There are white abusive employers and black abusive employers and Latino abusive employers. Lakewood is unique because the majority of the employers are Orthodox."

And as with many stories about Lakewood, this is where things get clouded by cultural differences and even stereotypes.

"People have a certain image," said Abe Shapiro, who owns Laundry Time, a card-operated laundromat in Lakewood, and employs six Hispanic women. "There are black sheep in every community but one of our Jewish laws is you shall treat people the way you would like to be treated, and most of us live by that."

Shapiro and other Orthodox employers find workers through the Puerto Rican Congress (PRC) of New Jersey, which ensures workers receive fair pay, work acceptable hours and have their wages appropriately taxed.

"We have between 120 and 150 workers placed in the area who work for Orthodox-owned companies," said Lydia Valencia, president of PRC, an advocacy group which has its headquarters in Lakewood. "We get very limited complaints, if any, about employers."

However, everyone who finds work through the PRC is documented. It is the undocumented workers who are more vulnerable to abuse.

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On Monday night, Kimmel gathered a dozen immigrant workers in Lakewood's branch of New Labor above a Clifton Street laundromat, to talk about the town's employer-employee dynamic. Some were documented and others were here illegally.

"We work for them," said a 16-year-old girl and Lakewood High School student who asked not to be identified because she feared she would get fired from her job at an Orthodox-owned clothing boutique. "That's made very clear to us. We don't feel respected by them."

The girl said she was fired from a previous job clothing store job when she asked the Orthodox owner if she could work reduced hours during varsity volleyball season.

"They said if I wanted to play, they would fire me," she said. "They said things to me like, 'We know your parents are illegal, so we know you need the job.' I played, and they fired me."

Diego Cazar, 43, from Ecuador, an organizer at New Labor, said he worked for an Orthodox private school as a maintenance man and worked 50 or 60 hours a week for $10 an hour. The owner sold the school, while owing Cazar $2,200 for a month's worth of work. New Labor and an attorney helped him recover the lost wages.

"I didn't know he was selling," said Cazar. "Then he was just gone."

Others at the meeting had similar stories.

Maria Luisa Almanza, a Mexican immigrant, got involved with New Labor after a woman told her she would get paid "tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow," for a week's worth of work. She was finally paid only $40.

Mariela Marroquin, 45, a Peruvian immigrant, said she was stiffed $5 after cleaning a dirty attic because the homeowner said a ring was missing. "It wasn't the $5. It was the respect," she said.

Respect is a word that comes up often in discussions about the relationships between Lakewood's Hispanic workforce and its Orthodox employers.

"Respect on the Job" is the first point on the "Bill of Rights for Domestic Workers" that New Labor created in 2013.

Sima Milgraum is an Orthodox woman and an attorney who has worked with New Labor and the immigrant community.

"To me, the most important thing is respect," she said from her Livingston practice. "If there is respect, then there is an ongoing appreciation for what both sides offer."

Milgraum described herself as "in the middle of both worlds" and has tried to bridge it by suggesting "the little things."

"If they (the workers) stay late, get them an Uber. If you (an Orthodox employer) don't want them bringing (non-Kosher) food in the house, feed them something," she said.

Another crucial sign of respect is carrying insurance.

"To me that's the most important thing," said Milgraum. "There must be insurance. It's not right to have people getting injured and just send them on their way. That's a real problem."

The "Bill of Rights" was supported by Lakewood City Council with a resolution in 2013.

Point No. 5 is "Work done is work paid. There will be no wage theft."

Lakewood Police Chief Gregory Meyer said when his department is called over a dispute, it is usually settled amicably.

"We just go up and say, 'If they did the work, pay them,' and that's usually the end of it," Meyer said.

New Labor also attempts to settle disputes, sometimes picketing homes or businesses.

"We do about seven or eight a year," Kimmel said. "Usually we contact the person and we can resolve it before it gets to that."

In extreme cases, they get lawyers involved.

One Lakewood-specific point in the Bill of Rights is about "phantom intermediaries."

Many of the domestic workers say there is a culture of go-betweens who, by word-of-mouth, connect the Orthodox homeowners with the Hispanic workers.

"They ask you to clean their house as a tryout," said Juana de la Cruz, 42, who came to Lakewood from Mexico. "And then they don't pay you."

Another, Point No.2, is "No work from knees."

And this is where cultural differences may come into play.

Marroquin, de la Cruz and the other women said they were often asked to get down on their hands and knees to scrub floors in Orthodox homes.

They found it a humiliating request, a posture of servitude.

But one Orthodox woman who asked that her named not be used because of the sensitivity of the subject said "scrubbing on our knees is just how we do things."

One thing not open to interpretation is the very real emotion running through the Hispanic community now over deportation.

Last Saturday a forum was held at the Iglesia Pentecostal Bethel Church next to the civic square. Organizers wanted to assuage the fears of Hispanics about possible deportation when reporting a crime or seeking health care.

Under a balcony decorated with flags from Central and South America, about 100 members of the Hispanic community were assured by local police agencies that they are safe to report crimes without fear of deportation.

Several of the people spoke of abuse by employers, and how workers are threatened with "calling immigration" if they don't accept substandard wages or work arduous hours.

Oscar Orellana, a Lakewood High School guidance counselor and wrestling coach, raised concerns about students working long hours, often deep into the night as kitchen help for catering services. Some were bussed to the Catskills and Poconos during Jewish holidays and worked extreme hours, he said.

"When a kid is working at Wal-Mart or McDonald's they are protected," Orellana said. "But if they work for some restaurants and stores in Lakewood, it's the wild, wild west. I have kids who are worked like adults, sometimes double shifts, and they drop out (of school) or fall behind. Their families need the money, but they are throwing away their futures. We want a community that wants a good future for all its kids."

Kimmel says his organization has reached out to the Jewish community to find common ground.

"We are educating our people about things like separating utensils used for dairy and what kind of food they can't bring into the house," he said. "We would like to talk more to their community about how workers are treated."

Mark Di Ionno may be reached at mdiionno@starledger.com. Follow The Star-Ledger on Twitter @StarLedger and find us on Facebook.