Read all about it! What we new to be true about Olympic has been verified.
THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
ONE ASHBURTON PLACE
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02108
(617) 727-2200
(617) 727-4765 TTY
www.mass.gov/ago
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT:
August 6, 2008 Harry Pierre
(617) 727-2543
PEABODY PAINTING COMPANY AND OWNER AGREE TO PAY $60,000 IN
RESTITUTION AND PENALTIES FOR MULTIPLE WAGE VIOLATIONS
PEABODY – Today, a Peabody painting company pled guilty in Peabody District
Court in connection with failing to obtain an insurance policy to properly protect its workers.
Olympic Painting and Roofing Co., Inc. (Olympic), pled guilty to the charge of Failure to Obtain
a Workers Compensation Insurance Policy. As a result of the guilty plea, Olympic agreed to pay
a fine of $1,000 and is debarred from performing any public work for a period of three years.
Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Office has also reached an agreement with the company’s
owner, George Vasiliades, age 44, of Ipswich, and Olympic to pay over $48,700 in restitution to
69 affected employees and nearly $10,300 in penalties for numerous violations including
misclassification of workers as independent contractors, failure to properly pay workers and
failure to pay overtime.
The Attorney General’s Office began an investigation in October 2005, after a complaint
was filed with the Office. An audit of Olympics’ payroll records showed that Vasiliades and his
company had failed to pay 69 employees a total of $48,500 in overtime for work performed
throughout 2006. Investigators also discovered that during the period of January 2005 through
November 2005, Vasiliades misclassified numerous employees as independent contractors. In
April 2006, the company also failed to pay one employee nearly $300 in wages. Authorities also
discovered that the company had failed to obtain a Workers Compensation insurance policy for
calendar year 2005.
The Attorney General’s Office is responsible for enforcing the laws regulating the
payment of wages laws, overtime and misclassification of employees in the Commonwealth.
Workers who believe they have been misclassified or that their rights have been violated are
strongly urged to call the Attorney General’s Fair Labor Hotline at (617) 727-3465. More
information about the wage and hour laws is also available in various languages at the Attorney
General’s Workplace Rights website: www.massworkrights.com.
The case was handled by Assistant Attorney General Bruce Trager, and was investigated
by Inspector Greg Reutlinger, both of Attorney General Coakley’s Fair Labor Division.
Investigator Jeff Ambrose from the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts also assisted with
the investigation.
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