A Dedham construction company and its owner are required to pay more than $100,000 in restitution and penalties for failing to properly pay their employees and for misclassifying their workers, Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office announced today.
Lancaster Enterprises Inc. and its owner, Marie Raftes, 68, of Dedham, have been ordered to pay $64,000 in fines and $37,273.34 in restitution for wage and hour violations.
The company has been cited for unpaid wages totaling more than $37,000 to 10 employees who performed work at two public construction sites; a fine of $10,000 for willful failure to pay the prevailing wage; a $2,000 fine for willful failure to submit true and accurate certified payroll records to the awarding authorities at the two public construction sites; a $50,000 fine for willful misclassification of employees as independent contractors; and a fine of $2,000 for failure to keep true and accurate payroll records.
This is the second time the AG’s office has cited the company in less than two years.
"At a time when many people are struggling financially, it is crucial that workers receive the wages they are rightfully owed," Coakley said. "The independent contractor law is designed to ensure that all businesses are competing on a level playing field."
In June 2009, the attorney general’s office first cited Raftes and Lancaster for intentionally failing to submit certified payroll records to the AG for work performed at the Newburyport State Police barracks project; intentionally failing to submit certified payroll records to the Massachusetts State Police, the awarding authority for the project, and intentionally failing to submit general payroll records for inspection to the AG’s office. At that time, the AG’s office fined Raftes and her company a total of $30,000 for the violations. Raftes and Lancaster appealed the civil citations to the Division of Administrative Law Appeals (DALA). After an evidentiary hearing in January 2011, DALA upheld the issuance of the civil citations.
While the appeal was pending, the AG’s office renewed its demand for Lancaster’s payroll records. Raftes and Lancaster submitted additional payroll information. Investigators determined that Raftes and her company failed to pay 10 employees a total of $37,273.34 in wages for work performed at the West Newbury and Newburyport public construction projects. Additionally, investigators discovered that Raftes and Lancaster misclassified 18 roofers as laborers as well as misclassifying them as independent contractors in violation of the Independent Contractor Law.
