CT Labor Department Issues Stop Work Order to New York Company

Wethersfield, CT (WorkersCompensation.com) - Acting upon a tip from several enforcement agencies, the Department of Labor today issued a Stop Work order to a New York construction company for

workforce violations that included failure to provide onsite payroll records and no proof of workers' compensation in Connecticut.

According to State Labor Commissioner Sharon M. Palmer, the agency's Wage and Workplace Standards Division issued a Stop Work Order to WW1 Construction Corp., of Long Island City, NY. The 26 workers at the site were doing carpentry framing work at a building on Market Street in Stamford, which is part of the Harbor Point area. Interviews with the workers revealed they were being paid in cash, and the employer was unable to produce payroll records or proof of workers' compensation coverage.

The Stop Work order means that the company is unable to work at the site and face a $300 civil penalty for each day the employer does not carry workers' compensation coverage as required by law. Work can only resume when the company can show proof that it no longer is in violation of Connecticut's workplace laws.

“Companies that avoid providing certain protections such as workers' compensation, which ensures that employees are safe in the event they are injured on the job, are failing to protect their workers and making it unfair to those employers that do follow state laws,” Palmer noted. “It is an employer's responsibility, under the law, to ensure that their employees have adequate coverage while at work. Unfortunately, when an employer does not pay its fair share and a worker gets hurt on the job or is laid off, the state's taxpayers ultimately foot the bill.”

According to Gary Pechie, director of the Wage and Workplace Standards Division, fines could amount to thousands of dollars, since Stop Work penalties would be combined with fines that

amount to $300 per employee, per day, for each week they were working while not on the payroll.

“This is not an isolated case, and not the first time our investigators have been asked to visit the Harbor Point construction site,” Pechie noted. “While many employers do operate under our state's workplace guidelines, unfortunately, a percentage of companies take unfair advantage of their employees and cheat our state by not paying the proper taxes or providing worker protections.”

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