DOL collects $8m in back pay - Westfair Communications

In the fiscal year ending June 30, the Connecticut Department of Labor recovered more than $8 million in unpaid wages owed workers by their employers.

That was $1 million more than DOL recovered in fiscal 2008. The agency chased down the funds through employee complaints; enforcing laws on prevailing wages required for publicly financed projects; unpaid overtime; and back pay.

The Labor Department also issued 170 stop orders at construction sites that did not carry workers compensation insurance on their employees.

In some cases, the department determined that employers misrepresented employees as independent contractors, or provided incomplete information regarding the number of their employees with the idea of paying lower insurance premiums.

“We have a responsibility to protect our workers and ensure that they are paid for the jobs they do,” said Gov. M. Jodi Rell. “Each and every Connecticut worker must receive the wages that they rightfully earn.”