The punishment was the result of an investigation led by the AG's Fair Labor Division out of its Springfield office.
SPRINGFIELD - A city cleaning company has been ordered by the state Attorney General's Office to pay $26,000 in fines and restitution for violating the state’s prevailing wage, independent contractor and payroll record-keeping laws, and for retaliating against an employee who filed a complaint.
The company, KJR Cleaning, formerly known as KJR Commercial Cleaning, Inc., and its president, Kelly Raleigh of Springfield, were found in violation stemming from a February 2010 investigation by the office of Attorney General Martha Coakley.
The penalty was announced Wednesday in a press release from Coakley's office.
"A worker’s right to file wage complaints with our office is protected by law, and no worker should be in fear of their employer for exercising that right,” AG Coakley said.
In February 2010, the Attorney General’s Fair Labor Division opened an investigation after receiving a complaint alleging that workers had not been paid properly at two separate prevailing wage jobs at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.
During the course of the investigation, allegations were made that Raleigh retaliated against a former employee in an attempt to get the individual to withdraw the wage complaint filed with the AG’s Office.
As a result of the investigation, Raleigh and her company were cited and have been ordered to pay more than $4,000 in restitution and a $22,000 penalty to the Commonwealth.
The investigation was handled by Assistant Attorney General Barbara Dillon DeSouza and was investigated by Inspector Brian Davies, both of AG Coakley’s Fair Labor Division in the Springfield office.
The Massachusetts wage and hour laws include anti-retaliation provisions that protect employees who bring allegations of wage violations to the attention of the Attorney General. Specifically, it unlawful for an employer to penalize, discharge, or in any manner discriminate against an employee who reports violations. It is also unlawful for employers to threaten or intimidate employees into accepting less than what they are due to be paid.
The Attorney General's Office has a Fair Labor Hotline for workers to report violations. The number is (617) 727-3465