AG Tong sues service plaza operator over unpaid wages

Attorney General William Tong has filed a lawsuit against service plaza operator Project Service LLC on behalf of the Connecticut Department of Labor to recover $2.7 million in unpaid wages owed to food service employees at the Connecticut”™s 23 service plazas.

According to a statement from Tong”™s office, the lawsuit is also seeking an additional $2.7 million in damages plus $722,000 in civil penalties previously assessed but never paid.

Project Service was contracted by the state Department of Transportation in 2009 to provide food service at the state-owned service plazas along I-95, Route 15 and I-395. Project Service, in turn, contracts with a number of different food service operators.

In August 2019, the Department of Labor received a complaint regarding non-payment of wages at the Darien-based Taco Bell. That complaint triggered an investigation that uncovered a total of $2.7 million in unpaid wages from Aug. 29, 2017 through Sept. 20, 2019, impacting 2,068 workers at a Taco Bell, Chipotle, Dunkin Donuts, and 17 Subway restaurants. The investigation found that many workers were paid the minimum hourly wage but not compensated for mandatory fringe benefits.

“These workers did their job, and they deserve to be paid their full compensation,” said Tong. “Project Service was put on notice years ago that their subcontractors were underpaying workers in violation of state law. They have continuously refused to make their workers whole despite repeated warnings and demands. We are left with no choice but today”™s legal action to compel Project Service to repay $2.7 million in unpaid back wages, as well as $2.7 million in additional penalties and damages to ensure this egregious wage theft never occurs again.”

Photo: JJBers / Flickr Creative Commons