Company Fined $100,000 For Not Paying Worcester Project Employees

WORCESTER, MA—A now-defunct electric company that was based in Wilmington has been cited more than $100,000 in restitution and penalties for intentionally failing to properly pay employees working on a public project for the City of Worcester to repair streetlights, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today.

The AG’s Office issued three intentional civil citations, all with specific intent, against Wilmington Wiring Corporation (WWC) and owner John Garrett for Failure to Pay the Prevailing Wage, Failure to Furnish Payroll Records, and Failure to Furnish Certified Payroll Records to the AG’s Office.

“Prevailing wage laws ensure workers are paid a real, living wage, and level the playing field for companies that play by the rules,” said AG Healey in a statement. “Workers, honest employers, and taxpayers lose when companies fail to follow wage and hour laws.”

WWC was a company based in Wilmington until it dissolved in May 2016. The AG’s Office began an investigation into the company in January 2016 after an employee filed a complaint alleging that he was not paid the prevailing wage rate for five years of work on a public project repairing streetlights in Worcester, said the announcement.

The AG’s investigation revealed that WWC intentionally failed to pay the proper prevailing wage rate to six of its employees for the public works project. The AG’s Office found that only WWC union employees were paid the proper rate, while the company’s non-union employees were underpaid for their work. WWC also subsequently intentionally ignored the AG’s Fair Labor Division’s payroll demands.