More than two dozen companies have been issued stop-work orders by the Connecticut Department of Labor since Jan. 9, affecting projects in Stamford, Norwalk, Westport, Milford, New Haven, Putnam and Brooklyn.
The citations were issued to companies the Labor Department claims misclassified workers as independent contractors. The practice, according to the department, is commonly used by employers as a means of dodging state and federal labor laws covering areas such as workers’ compensation, unemployment taxes and payroll reporting.
The orders require the cited contractors to halt all activity at the specified worksites and include a $300 fine for each day the company doesn’t carry workers’ compensation coverage as required by law.
Companies that have been cited include:
- Sheng Chang Renovations Inc., of New York state, which was cited Jan. 9 for work at 1100 Hope St. in Stamford;
- Heritage Drywall L.L.C., of Avon, and Rammer Development L.L.C., of New Haven, were cited Jan. 23 for work at Pacific Street in Stamford;
- ACI Drywall, of Maryland, was cited Jan. 30 for work at 278 Old Gate Lane in Milford;
- Edge Star Resources L.L.C., of New Haven, was cited Jan. 30 for work at Pacific Street in Stamford;
- G. Logan Construction, of Massachusetts, J&R General L.L.C., of Stonington, Moccia Concrete Construction, of New Hampshire, and United Drywall, of Massachusetts, were cited Feb. 1 for work at 625 School St. in Putnam;
- J. Hatchett Masonry L.L.C., of Massachusetts, was cited Feb. 1 for work at 450 Providence Road in Brooklyn;
- G. Castro Contractor L.L.C., of Stamford, LIGB Corp., of New York state, M. Rivera Construction Inc., of New York state, and Rick’s Main Roofing Ltd., of Norwalk, were cited Feb. 15 for work at 57 West Rocks Road in Norwalk;
- DeLaurentis Inc., of Fairfield, Flushing Carpet, of New York state, Front Street Facilities, of New York state, and Rivera-Salazar Group Inc., of Bethel, were cited Feb. 21 for work at 1201 Boston Post Road in Milford;
- Green Day Landscape L.L.C., of Stamford, Domack Roofing L.L.C., of Stratford, and Gamma Construction Services, of New York state, were cited March 13 for work at 1 Ketchum Road in Westport;
- Dani’s Home Builders, Extreme Drywall, Floor Expo and Franchise Contractors, all of New York state, and Premium Decorating, of New Jersey, were cited March 13 for work at Amity Road in New Haven; and
- Shoreline Carpentry L.L.C., of Milford, was cited March 14 for work at Factory Lane in Milford.
