State Labor Agency Recovers More Than $5.5 Million For Workers

WETHERSFIELD — Acting State Commissioner Dennis C. Murphy announced last week that investigators with the agency’s Wage & Workplace Standards Division recovered more than $5.5 million in unpaid wages for Connecticut workers during the fiscal year ending June 30.

“We have a responsibility to protect the workers of Connecticut and ensure that they are paid for the jobs they do,” Commissioner Murphy noted. “Every employee should receive the wages they rightfully earn, and whether the issue is unpaid overtime or the failure to pay the proper wage, the agency is ready to help resolve the problem.”

According to Commissioner Murphy, the Labor Department recovered a total of $5,565,259.53 in legally due wages for employees during the past fiscal year. This included $2,028,065.09 recovered by wage enforcement staff responding to 2,453 complaints that owed wages had not been paid.

The division also returned $1,599,095.98 to 1,383 workers who were not paid for overtime work or the minimum wage and recovered $1,930,358.40 by enforcing the state’s prevailing wage laws. An additional $7,740.06 was recouped in back pay owed to 62 service workers hired by private contractors.

Violations of prevailing wage laws were determined after investigators conducted 112 payroll audits and made 76 site inspections. A total of 672 employees received owed wages from 60 employers as a result of nonpayment of prevailing wage rates.

Violations were found in 351 additional cases concerning employment of minors in the workplace (hours of labor, night work of minors, prohibited employment of minors, working papers/certificates of age) and smoking in the workplace, meal/rest periods, personnel files, and drug testing issues.

A total of 263 Stop Work orders were issued to employers who did not comply with Worker’s Compensation requirements. Following onsite investigations, these companies were required to cease work on a construction project until certain workplace regulations were met. In some cases, it was determined that employers misrepresented employees as independent contractors — a practice that causes an economic disadvantage to other companies.

“The $5.5 million collected by our investigators reflects the importance we place on protecting our workforce, law-abiding employers, and putting a stop to bad business practices,” noted Wage and Workplace Standards Director Gary K. Pechie.

Mr Pechie also urged employers to take advantage of the unit’s extensive outreach efforts, including the easily accessible compliance materials and guidelines found on the Labor Department’s website (www.ct.gov/dol) located under “Wage and Workplace Standards.”