Over the last year and a half, the Massachusetts state attorney general's office has issued 253 wage violation citations against employers in the construction industry. That is more than any other sector and has resulted in more than $1.6 million recovered in penalties and unpaid wages.
The "wage theft" practice has reached epidemic levels in Massachusetts, particularly in residential construction, according to research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Legislation filed in the House and Senate is attempting to battle the epidemic. The legislation would give the state more power to weed out corrupt employers as well as issue stop-work orders at joists where workers are being misclassified or getting paid in cash. The legislation has not yet had a hearing.
(more on Massachusetts' construction industry wage theft epidemic...)
