WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is siding with hundreds of former workers at a New Jersey trucking company who said they were unfairly denied a claim for lost wages after the company filed for bankruptcy protection.

The justices ruled 6-2 Wednesday that a bankruptcy court should not have approved a plan allowing Jevic Transportation Inc. to settle other legal claims first, leaving nothing for the workers.

The workers said the bankruptcy plan did not follow traditional rules requiring unpaid wages to be paid ahead of other debts. The company said settlements with lower-ranking creditors are sometimes essential to resolving the bankruptcy process.

The company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2008, two years after it was acquired by a private equity firm in a leveraged buyout. About 1,800 ex-workers are seeking lost wages.