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MARTHA COAKLEY

ATTORNEY GENERAL

December 09, 2009 - For immediate release:

New Hampshire Company Ordered to Pay $39,000 for Violations of the Massachusetts Prevailing Wage Laws

BOSTON – Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Office has cited a Deerfield, NH, electrical company, Ewing Electrical Company, Inc. and its owner, Philip E. Davidson of Deerfield, NH, for violating the Massachusetts Prevailing Wage Law.  As a result of the violations, Davidson and Ewing Electrical Company are required to pay over $37,300 in restitution to their workers as well as a $2,000 fine to the Commonwealth. 

In June 2008, the Attorney General’s Fair Labor Division began investigating Ewing Electrical Company after receiving a complaint alleging the company had improperly submitted Certified Payroll Records as required under the Massachusetts Prevailing Wage Laws.  The investigation revealed that from January 2006 through January 2009 the company had improperly paid the prevailing wage rate as required on public projects in the Commonwealth.  An audit showed that the company had failed to pay over $37,000 to 18 employees over the relevant two year period.

Employers who work on public works projects in Massachusetts are required to pay the prevailing wage and submit weekly Certified Payroll Records to the appropriate awarding authority. These records must show the employee’s classification, hourly rate of pay and amount of allowable fringe benefits.

The Attorney General’s Fair Labor Division is responsible for enforcing the minimum wage and overtime laws, prevailing wage laws and the payment of wages laws in the Commonwealth.  Workers who feel that their rights have been violated in their workplace are encouraged to call the Office’s Fair Labor Hotline at (617) 727-3465.  More information about the state’s wage and hour laws is also available in multiple languages at the Attorney General’s Workplace Rights website www.massworkrights.com.  

The matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Jay Clark and investigated by Inspector Joseph Drzyzga, both of Attorney General Coakley’s Fair Labor Division.

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