Press Release  Marine Services Company Cited More than $64,000 for Failing to Pay Prevailing Wage on Falmouth Public Works Project

Boston —  A New York-based marine services company has been cited more than $64,000 in restitution and penalties for failing to pay employees the proper prevailing wage for work performed on the Town of Falmouth Long Pond Water Treatment Facility public works project, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today. 

The AG’s Office issued three citations against Northeast Diving Services, LLC (NE Diving) and owner Richard B. Spring for their intentional failure to pay prevailing wage, submit true and accurate certified payroll records, and furnish records for inspection.

“Companies cannot come into Massachusetts to perform work on public projects and not pay their employees the proper wages,” said AG Healey. “For any company doing business in our state, we will make sure workers are paid fairly and that there is level playing field for all contractors who bid on public works construction projects.”

NE Diving provides commercial diving services, dock construction, pond and lake weed removal, pond dredging and dam inspection services. NE Diving was subcontracted by Methuen Construction Corp. to perform work on the Falmouth public works project.

The AG’s Office began an investigation in December 2015 after the AG’s Fair Labor Division received a complaint from a former employee alleging that NE Diving was not paying its employees the prescribed prevailing wage rate for work performed on the project. 

The AG’s investigation revealed that between Oct. 26, 2015 and Feb. 19, 2016, NE Diving deducted $27.97 per hour from employees’ hourly prevailing wage rates for fringe benefits (i.e. health & welfare and pension contributions) that were not provided to the employees. As a result of these improper fringe benefit deductions, seven employees did not receive the full hourly prevailing wage rate for the work they performed.

Despite several demands from the AG’s Office, NE Diving failed to provide general payroll records or any documentation substantiating that the seven employees were in fact enrolled in a health insurance or pension plan or that the company made payments to such plans.

Under the Massachusetts Prevailing Wage Law, contractors and subcontractors engaged in public construction projects must pay their employees a special minimum wage, which is based on the occupational classification for the type of work the employees perform.

The prevailing wage rate includes both a cash wage component and credits for employer payments to bona fide health and welfare, pension, and supplemental unemployment benefit plans. If an employer does not provide any of these fringe benefits, then the total prevailing wage rate must be paid as a cash wage. 

To protect the wages of employees and to ensure a level playing field for all contractors who bid on public works construction projects, credits claimed against the prevailing wage are carefully scrutinized by the AG’s Office to verify the deductions qualify as legitimate fringe benefits.   

AG Healey is committed to protecting the economic security of Massachusetts residents, particularly vulnerable workers. AG Healey’s Fair Labor Division is responsible for enforcing the laws regulating the payment of wages, including prevailing wage, minimum wage and overtime laws.

Workers who believe that their rights have been violated in their workplace can 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 www.mass.gov/ago/fairlabor.

This matter is being handled by Assistant Attorney General Barbara Dillon DeSouza and was investigated by Inspector Brian Davies, both of Attorney General Healey’s Fair Labor Division in the Western Massachusetts Regional Office.

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