Press Release

Press Release  AG's Fair Labor Division Cites Asbestos Abatement Company More Than $564,000 for Prevailing Wage, Overtime Violations

For immediate release:
10/20/2020
  • Office of Attorney General Maura Healey
  • The Attorney General's Fair Labor Division

Media Contact   for AG's Fair Labor Division Cites Asbestos Abatement Company More Than $564,000 for Prevailing Wage, Overtime Violations

Emalie Gainey

BOSTON A Lowell asbestos abatement company and its operators have been cited more than $564,000, including restitution for 32 employees, for violating the Massachusetts prevailing wage, overtime, and earned sick time laws, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today.

Fiber Control Inc., its president Bahram Safarpoormonfared, and operators Dara Chhim and Khly Sok, received four citations for intentionally failing to pay the prevailing wage and overtime, failing to maintain an earned sick time policy, and repeated payroll records violations. The company, Safarpoormonfared, Chhim, and Sok have ignored the citations and have been debarred from working on public works projects for the time period of one year starting on October 10, 2020.

 “Contractors who perform work on public construction projects have a duty to pay the prevailing wage,” said AG Healey. “We will enforce state laws that protect construction workers from wage theft and ensure a level playing field for contractors and construction companies that bid on public works projects.” 

According to the AG’s Office, Fiber Control employees performed work on 15 public construction projects between September 2017 through February 2019, where none of the workers received the required prevailing wage rate. The AG’s investigation revealed that Fiber Control repeatedly submitted certified payroll records stating employees were paid the full prevailing wage, when in fact they were not.

Those public constructions projects were at the following locations:

  • Belmont Housing Authority
  • Cape Cod Community College
  • Cambridge – Putnam Gardens
  • Clinton Housing Authority
  • Concord – Ripley Steam Lab
  • Danvers – Willis Thorpe School
  • David Prouty High School – Spencer East Brookfield Regional School District
  • Worcester – DYS Leahy Center
  • Hyannis Fire & Rescue Headquarters
  • Framingham – 10 Nichols Road
  • Framingham – Village Hall
  • UMass-Amherst Tilson Poultry Building
  • UMass-Lowell
  • Walpole Fisher Elementary School
  • Walpole Town Hall

In 2018 and 2019, the AG’s Office cited Fiber Control for failing to furnish records and failing to pay prevailing wage on public projects. The company did not pay the citations, which resulted in a lien against the company and a debarment from bidding or working on public works projects.

The AG’s Office enforces laws that regulate the payment of wages, including the prevailing wage laws, special minimum wage laws that apply to certain public construction projects and public works to ensure quality workmanship and fairness in the awarding of public contracts. The law also requires contractors and subcontractors working on public works construction projects to submit weekly true and accurate certified payroll records to the public entity that awards the contractors the public construction project contracts.

The AG’s Office recently released its fifth annual Labor Day Report on the Fair Labor Division’s efforts to address wage theft and other forms of worker exploitation in fiscal year 2020. The report shows that the Division assessed more than $12.3 million in restitution and penalties against employers on behalf of workers in Massachusetts. The report also shows that the Fair Labor Division continued to prioritize wage theft in the construction industry and assessed nearly $2.5 million in restitution and penalties against construction employers on behalf of more than 500 employees in fiscal year 2020.

Workers who believe that their rights have been violated in their workplace are encouraged to file a complaint at www.mass.gov/ago/fairlabor. For information about the state’s wage and hour laws, workers may call the AG’s Fair Labor Hotline at (617) 727-3465 or go to www.mass.gov/ago/fairlabor for materials in multiple languages.

This matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Amy Goyer and Supervising Investigator Greg Reutlinger of the AG’s Fair Labor Division, with assistance from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.

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Media Contact   for AG's Fair Labor Division Cites Asbestos Abatement Company More Than $564,000 for Prevailing Wage, Overtime Violations

  • Office of the Attorney General 

    Attorney General Maura Healey is the chief lawyer and law enforcement officer of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
  • The Attorney General's Fair Labor Division 

    The Attorney General’s Fair Labor Division protects workers from exploitation and sets a level playing field for employers. We enforce wage and hour, public construction, and child labor laws.

    Due to the COVID-19 emergency, walk-ins to the AG’s physical office locations will not receive in-person service. Walk-ins will be encouraged to file complaints online or call our office.
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