Workplace fraud task force collects $1.4m
Group's 1st year detailed in report
In its first year investigating workplace fraud in Massachusetts, a new government task force has collected more than $1.4 million in unpaid taxes and fines and has launched investigations into more than 500 worker complaints, according to a report to be released tomorrow.
The report, filed by the Joint Task Force on the Underground Economy and Employee Misclassification, is the result of hundreds of investigations, workers’ testimony, and several town hall meetings, including on to be held tomorrow in Boston.
Governor Deval Patrick named the task force last year to compel state agencies to jointly crack down on workplace fraud and employee misclassification that allowed employers to skirt wage and labor laws. Seventeen state agencies now investigate workers’ complaints, which include failure to pay minimum wage, improper classification of workers, and other issues.
George Noel, director of labor and task force chairman, said many of the stories were chilling and affected workers from a variety of backgrounds, from immigrants here illegally to American citizens. A budding electrician suffered electrical shocks because he was in a shoddy program, he said, while young workers were taken hours away from home for a job but weren’t paid until they started working.
“The stories I heard, in many cases, made me cry,’’ Noel said.
A major shift is that multiple state agencies are working together to investigate cases, he said.
Now, the state can refer a worker’s complaint to multiple agencies at once. For instance, a worker who calls the state’s referral line (877-96-LABOR) to complain that his employer is failing to pay the minimum wage might also be referred to the Department of Industrial Accidents, which oversees the state’s workers’ compensation system, and the Division of Unemployment Assistance, which monitors unemployment insurance.
As a result this year, the state collected $737,439 in new unemployment insurance taxes that employers had previously failed to pay.
“It’s found money,’’ Noel said. “It’s money they never would have found on their own devices.’’
In addition, the state is working more closely with worker-advocacy groups to break through cultural or language barriers that might prevent workers from filing complaints.
“They’re laying the groundwork, and it’s based on obvious stuff that should have been happening but wasn’t happening,’’ said Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, executive director of the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health.“It’s a critical part of what government should be doing.’’
