Owner of Hanover Cleaning Company Arraigned for Violating the State's Wage and Hour Laws

BOSTON- Today, the owner of a Hanover cleaning company was arraigned in Boston Municipal Court in connection with violating the state's larceny, wage and hour, and worker's compensation laws. Charles B. Wood III, age 58, and owner of Clean Tech Professional Cleaning Services, was arraigned on charges of Larceny by Check over $250, Failure to Pay Wages (7 counts), Failure to Provide Suitable Pay Stub Record (4 counts), and Failure to Provide Workers Compensation Insurance Coverage. A plea of not guilty was entered on Wood's behalf and he was released on personal recognizance by District Court Judge Sally Kelly. Wood is scheduled to appear in court on August 28, 2009, for a pre-trial conference.

In June 2007, the Attorney General's Fair Labor Division began an investigation after receiving multiple referrals from Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS) and the community based organization Chelsea Collaborative on behalf of affected workers, alleging that the workers had not been paid by Wood for cleaning work performed for the company. Wood is accused of failing to pay seven of his employees their wages for janitorial work they performed at several locations in downtown Boston, including the Boston Opera House, the Colonial Theater, and the Rock Bottom restaurant. Wood also failed to provide four of the employees with a pay stub, and paid one of the employees with a check that was returned due to insufficient funds. Wood further employed these workers without workers compensation insurance coverage, which is required of all employers in the Commonwealth.

Under Massachusetts law, employers must pay employees within six days of the termination of the pay period. Employers must provide a pay stub with proper information, including rates of pay and legal deductions. The Attorney General's Office strongly encourages employees who believe that they are owed wages to call the Attorney General'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 case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Lillian Hirales, and was investigated by Investigator Elizabete Valadao, both of Attorney General Coakley's Fair Labor Division.

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