Project Temporarily Halted at Former Milford Amusement/Smile's Site

COSAN, a concrete contractor from Yonkers, NY, was issued a stop work order by the Connecticut Department of Labor for failing to obtain required workers compensation and misclassifying employees as independent contractors at a Milford construction site, according to the Department of Labor.

The project is site of the former Milford Amusement/Smile’s Entertainment facility, which was demolished earlier this year. Read that full story here.

Department of Labor agents halted the pouring of the concrete foundation to issue the stop work order mid-day Thursday.

“Misclassification of employees allows a contractor to recoup up to 30% of their costs, making it very lucrative for a contractor to break the law. What most folks don’t realize is that local taxpayers foot the rest of the bill while the local workforce is sidelined, often to an out-of-state contractor who has no stake in the local economic recovery.” Stated Senior Organizer Ted Duarte of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters.

A rash of citations for labor violations on construction sites has broken out across the state, with out of state contractors being shut down in North Haven, Niantic, Norwalk, and Milford in the past month. Over 200 stop work orders have been issued by agents of the Wage and Workplace Standards division of the Department of Labor since January.

The construction site, a 3,500 square foot construction project, slated to be occupied by Panera Breads and other retailers, resides on the Boston Post Road. SISCA Northeast was the general contractor on the site.