By Shira Schoenberg
Posted Apr 24, 4:55 PM
A union-backed amendment expected to be included in the Massachusetts House budget would increase the attorney general’s ability to enforce wage and hour laws in the construction industry.
Rep. Dan Cullinane, D-Boston, introduced an amendment that would spend $500,000 to create a specialized unit in the attorney general’s office to investigate and enforce wage violations in the construction industry.
“This underground economy is real,” Cullinane said. “Bad companies are stealing wages from workers, bad companies are pocketing taxpayer dollars by falsifying payroll records.”
Historically, the construction industry has had frequent occurrences of wage theft.
Attorney General Maura Healey, in a February report, said her office issued 165 civil citations against 66 construction companies in 2018 for wage violations. These companies paid fines of more than $1.23 million and restitution of $1.47 million for 1,030 employees.
Wage theft can include things like failing to pay overtime, failing to pay the required wage for public projects or not accurately documenting how many hours someone works.