A Massachusetts construction company has been cited $837,341 in restitution and penalties for violating state wage and hour laws and making unlawful deductions from paychecks, Banker & Tradesman reports.
The attorney general's office issued two civil citations to Force Crop. and its managers Juliano Fernandes, a repeat wage act violator; Anderson Dos Santos; and Claudio Cicero Da Silva for failure to make timely payment of wages and failure to furnish payroll records to the attorney general's office.
According to a statement from Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Heasley, the Leominster, Mass., construction company's managers "cheated" workers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars and used "dozens" of illegal tricks to steal from workers.
An investigation began after the New England Regional Council of Carpenters referred complaints from Force workers to the attorney general's office, alleging wage violations at two projects. The investigation revealed extensive practices from the managers of taking deductions from employees' weekly wage totals for tools, safety equipment, and discipline. The investigation also uncovered the practice of requiring employees to purchase tools through a company owned by one of the managers.
The office had previously cited on of the construction company's managers, Juliano Fernandes, twice for similar wage and hour violations, including the failure to pay overtime and the failure to maintain true and accuate records.
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