A Dedham construction company – Lancaster Enterprises, Inc. – and its owner have pleaded guilty and were sentenced on seven labor charges, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced on Wednesday, Sept. 5.
Marie Raftes, 69, of Dedham, owner of Lancaster Enterprises, pleaded guilty to failure to pay the prevailing wage, willful misclassification of employees as independent contractors, willful failure to submit true and accurate certified payroll records to the awarding authority, failure to maintain general payroll records, willful failure to submit payroll records to the attorney general’s office for inspection, willful failure to submit certified payroll records to the attorney general’s office for inspection and willful failure to submit certified payroll records to the awarding authority, according to a press release.
Following the guilty plea in Dedham District Court, Judge Mary Hogan Sullivan sentenced Raftes to two years’ probation and ordered Raftes and Lancester Enterprises to pay more than $37,000 in restitution to 10 employees.
Additionally, Raftes and Lancaster Enterprises are debarred from bidding on or contracting for public construction projects for five years. The company may finish public construction projects they had under contract prior to the pleas, according to a press release from the Attorney General’s office.
“As families struggle to make ends meet in a tough economy, every dollar counts,” Coakley wrote in the Wednesday, Sept. 5 statement. “This is a clear example of a company that failed to pay its workers properly and tried to get away with it while its employees suffered.”
Raftes and Lancaster Enterprises were first cited in June 2009 for intentionally failing to submit certified payroll records to the Attorney General’s office for work performed at the Newburyport State Police barracks project, intentionally failing to submit certified payroll records to the state police and intentionally failing to submit general payroll records for inspection to the Attorney General’s office, according to Coakley’s statement.
Coakley’s office fined Raftes and her company $30,000, which Raftes and Lancaster Enterprises appealed, the statement said. The Division of Administrative Law Appeals upheld the citations in January 2011.
While the appeal was pending, Coakley’s office renewed its demand for the company’s payroll records. When they were submitted, investigators determined that Raftes and her company failed to pay 10 employees more than $37,000 in wages for work performed at the West Newbury and Newburyport public construction projects, according to the statement.
Additionally, investigators discovered that Raftes and Lancaster Enterprises misclassified 18 roofers as laborers and independent contractors in violation of the Independent Contractor Law, the statement said.
A Dedham construction company – Lancaster Enterprises, Inc. – and its owner have pleaded guilty and were sentenced on seven labor charges, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced on Wednesday, Sept. 5.
Marie Raftes, 69, of Dedham, owner of Lancaster Enterprises, pleaded guilty to failure to pay the prevailing wage, willful misclassification of employees as independent contractors, willful failure to submit true and accurate certified payroll records to the awarding authority, failure to maintain general payroll records, willful failure to submit payroll records to the attorney general’s office for inspection, willful failure to submit certified payroll records to the attorney general’s office for inspection and willful failure to submit certified payroll records to the awarding authority, according to a press release.
Following the guilty plea in Dedham District Court, Judge Mary Hogan Sullivan sentenced Raftes to two years’ probation and ordered Raftes and Lancester Enterprises to pay more than $37,000 in restitution to 10 employees.
Additionally, Raftes and Lancaster Enterprises are debarred from bidding on or contracting for public construction projects for five years. The company may finish public construction projects they had under contract prior to the pleas, according to a press release from the Attorney General’s office.
“As families struggle to make ends meet in a tough economy, every dollar counts,” Coakley wrote in the Wednesday, Sept. 5 statement. “This is a clear example of a company that failed to pay its workers properly and tried to get away with it while its employees suffered.”
Raftes and Lancaster Enterprises were first cited in June 2009 for intentionally failing to submit certified payroll records to the Attorney General’s office for work performed at the Newburyport State Police barracks project, intentionally failing to submit certified payroll records to the state police and intentionally failing to submit general payroll records for inspection to the Attorney General’s office, according to Coakley’s statement.
Coakley’s office fined Raftes and her company $30,000, which Raftes and Lancaster Enterprises appealed, the statement said. The Division of Administrative Law Appeals upheld the citations in January 2011.
While the appeal was pending, Coakley’s office renewed its demand for the company’s payroll records. When they were submitted, investigators determined that Raftes and her company failed to pay 10 employees more than $37,000 in wages for work performed at the West Newbury and Newburyport public construction projects, according to the statement.
Additionally, investigators discovered that Raftes and Lancaster Enterprises misclassified 18 roofers as laborers and independent contractors in violation of the Independent Contractor Law, the statement said.
The case was handled by Assistant Attorney General Miranda S. Jones and investigated by Investigator Mario Paiva, both of Coakley’s Fair Labor Division, and Nuno Fontes Montrond, former of the Attorney General’s Office.
Wicked Local Dedham was unable to reach Raftes by phone on Wednesday, Sept. 5.
Workers who believe their wage and hour rights have been violated are asked to call the Attorney General’s fair labor hotline at 617-727-3465. More information about wage and hour laws is available in multiple languages at massworkrights.com.
Staff writer Dave Eisenstadter can be reached at 781-433-8336 or deisenstadter@wickedlocal.com. Like The Dedham Transcript on Facebook and follow @DedhamTranscrip on Twitter.
