Home Care Workers Protest At Enfield-Based Payroll Firm [WATCH]

ENFIELD, CT — Dozens of personal care attendants and members of their union gathered for a civil disobedience action Thursday in front of the headquarters of Allied Community Resources, to express their indignation at what they say are numerous "missed timely and accurate wage payments due to errors" by the firm which has a state contract to provide payroll services.

With the payroll agreement between Allied and the Department of Social Services (DSS) and the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) due to expire on June 30, home care workers are demanding the state find another organization that is trustworthy to deliver on wage payments for all personal care attendants.

"The state is paying Allied more than $6 million to process payroll for these essential workers," said Rob Baril, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) New England, District 1199. "Every week on Fridays, our phone lines blow up at the union to file complaints against Allied. These workers feel like they've been cheated and robbed. And we are not going to let Allied get away with mistreating our members."

In 2019, over 6,000 timesheet errors were admitted by Allied. In just the second half of 2020, while workers struggled with the coronavirus pandemic, the company processed nearly 5,000 timesheets after the scheduled payday in a period of six months alone, according to DSS records.

Some of the protesters arrived in school buses from as far away as Bethel. Men, women and even a few children, nearly all of whom wore some sort of union attire, lined the sidewalks carrying signs containing messages such as "Fire Allied" and "Be Fair to Those Who Care." The crowd was vocal, chanting slogans and delivering impassioned pleas through megaphones for nearly an hour and a half.

Around 12:30 p.m., 14 protesters sat down in the street, which is a private roadway leading to several area businesses, including a driving school, the Enfield Housing Authority and a Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles branch. After about 10 minutes, Police Chief Alaric Fox informed the group they were in violation of several Connecticut statutes, risking arrest if they did not comply with a request to move out of the road.

Fox issued two more requests to the group, but none of the protesters moved despite being subject to arrest. After the third appeal was ignored, Enfield police officers escorted them one person at a time to a nearby parking lot, where they were each issued a summons for creating a public disturbance. The infraction carries a fine of $103.

The top executive at Allied disputes the claims of the home care workers, and questioned the decision to protest at the Pearson Way headquarters, when the payroll division is actually located at a building in the East Windsor Industrial Park.

"The union’s issues do not have anything to do with Allied’s Enfield programs, but rather our subsidiary operations in East Windsor that act as a fiscal intermediary for the state’s self-directed programs," president and CEO Carol Bohnet told Patch. "The 1199 Union is demanding that the state end their contract with Allied Community Resources and claims that Allied does not care about home care. Allied does care. Our staff works extremely hard and is dedicated to processing the payroll for the personal care assistants and other home care workers. We know how critical it is for them to receive their pay on time every week. We care deeply about the care and safety of the thousands of individuals that receive their critical services through the programs.

"Allied processes timesheets every week for over 6,800 providers. The payroll is funded with state and federal dollars, averaging $3.5 million each week. Approximately 4 percent have errors that need to be resolved. Less than one percent cannot be resolved - Allied does not have the authority to pay for federal and state-funded program services that do not adhere to the program rules. Allied continues to work with the state to resolve the issues that delay pay."

After hearing of the planned protest late Wednesday from police, Bohnet closed its program services in Enfield Thursday. She cited a similar incident from two years ago which caused considerable discomfort for clients and staff.

"When the union held their protest in 2019 at our Enfield location, their actions ended with an angry mob storming into our program facility," Bohnet said. "Their actions were extreme and violent, with protesters - the personal care assistants - banging on windows and trying to force their way further into our building. Our 80-plus program clients were frightened and disturbed. Our staff were frightened for their safety."

Despite the 14 citations, the entire situation Thursday was peaceful from start to finish, though utter frustration was evident from the home care providers.

"I've been in the workforce for over 50 years," Kay Wright of New Haven said. "Allied has messed up my pay more times in the past five years than in the previous 45 years combined. Instead of payroll getting better, it's only gotten worse. I can't count on my paycheck each Friday. If you work, you should be paid. That's the bottom line."

A video of the day's events, including interviews with Baril and Fox, is available below, as are photos from the gathering.

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