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:
March 20, 2008 Harry Pierre
(617) 727-2543
WAYLAND MAN AND COMPANY PLEAD GUILTY TO WAGE AND HOUR VIOLATIONS AND AGREE TO PAY NEARLY $300,000 IN PENALTIES AND FINES
BOSTON - Today, a Wayland man and his construction company pled guilty in Boston Municipal Court to violating the state’s Prevailing Wage Law. Laurence Moloney, age 43, and his company, Shannon Construction Corporation, based in Wayland, pled guilty to charges of Failure to Pay Prevailing Wages, Failure to Pay Overtime, Failure to Provide True and Accurate Certified Payroll Records, and Failure to Provide True and Accurate Records. The corporation also pled guilty to Workers’ Compensation Premium Evasion. As a result of today’s guilty plea, Moloney and his company will be required to pay nearly $300,000 in penalties and fines.
“It is important that employees on public construction jobs are paid appropriately for their work,” Attorney General Martha Coakley said. “Our Office is committed to ensuring the rights of all workers statewide and will continue to enforce the Prevailing Wage law and other statutes designed to protect those rights.”
An 11-month joint-investigation by the Attorney General’s Office and the Massachusetts Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) began in November 2006 after a complaint was filed with the Attorney General’s Office. Shannon Construction performed work on two separate public contracts for emergency sewer projects in the City of Boston. Investigators found that although Shannon’s certified payroll records indicated that approximately 70 employees were paid the prevailing wage, the regular payroll records indicated that these employees were paid at a rate lower than the state’s prevailing wage. Shannon employees were also not being paid overtime wages they had earned. The IFB determined that the discrepancy in payroll amounts was not reported to the company’s workers’ compensation carrier, Atlantic Charter Insurance. The intentional failure to report this amount allowed Shannon to avoid paying higher worker’s compensation insurance premiums. Shannon was previously cited in 2002 for Failure to Keep True and Accurate Payroll Records and Failure to Furnish True and Accurate Certified Payroll Records.
Both Moloney and Shannon Construction pled guilty to prevailing wage, overtime and records keeping violations. They have been ordered to pay $40,000 in fines and $210,000 in restitution for these violations. In addition, Moloney and his company are subject to a three-year debarment from bidding or working on future public construction jobs. Boston Municipal Court Judge Eleanor Sinnott also sentenced Moloney to a one-year sentence in the House of Correction if he fails to pay restitution, with the balance of that sentence suspended for three years. Shannon Construction also pled guilty to workers compensation premium evasion, fined $10,000, and ordered to pay $40,000 in restitution to the insurer.
Employees who believe their rights have been violated are encouraged to call the Attorney General’s Fair Labor Hotline at (617) 727-3465.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General Bruce Trager and Tom Johnson, with assistance from Inspector Scott Simpson, all of Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Fair Labor Division. Investigator Kate Mulligan of the Massachusetts Insurance Fraud Bureau also assisted with the investigation.
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